It's a snowy day in Decorah. I made some money, this morning, shoveling snow. It didn't interfere with my job at the Peace and Justice Center. I'm working there, on a part time basis, to learn about IT work.
Anyway, while there, I got into looking for a newer operating system for an old IMac that they have. I went home and got on EBay. I ended up looking at hard drives that had an operating system pre-installed. I got to thinking about my worst old Ibook G4. I can't load an operating system because the plug for the CD player is broken. I tried using firewire but that didn't work. So I bought the hard drive. Only after I payed for it did I notice that it is a 3 1/2 inch drive. The Ibook takes a 2 1/2 inch drive. That makes it useful for a desktop only. Maybe I can install it in the old IMac. We'll see.
Other than I'm spending too much money at the new job, it is going well. I spent $30 last week for a firewire cable. I can use that at home as well as at work but I couldn't get the operating systems to work. I think it might be that Macintosh simply rejects anything that isn't a Macintosh operating system. I know that it's that way with the flash drives. I'll have to try loading some of the old Macintosh operating systems on my home computer. That might work.
Culver's is loading me up with free coupons. Each time I come in they give me a coupon that I have to take a survey with. Then I get free ice cream the next time I come. I'm a sucker for free things. I'm going to get very fat. Not only do I eat the ice cream but I end up ordering something else as well. I guess that I don't want to look like the cheap skate that I really am. Anyway, tonight I had chile french fries as well as ice cream.
Tomorrow it is supposed to snow again. The last weather report I saw had it snowing from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. That may mess me up with the job at Peace and Justice. The snow that came down today melted as fast as it came down. I only had to deal with the snow that came overnight. That was bad enough. It was wet and heavy. I doubt that tomorrow's snow will amount to anything but I've been wrong before.
Well, I've got a survey to fill out.
Later
Chronicling life in Sac City, Iowa. Fixing old laptop computers, and dealing with poverty while prepping for the financial collapse.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Quiet Day at Java Johns
Not much is happening today. I'm just hanging out at Java Johns and reading the paper.
I asked Mary, here, if she would like a desktop computer for her customer's use.
There is an old Imac at the Peace and Justice Center, which is something of a spare. I'm thinking of swapping it for one of my old laptops and taking it to Java John's. I would like to get $50 out of it. I put a lot of time and money into these old laptops and I feel I should get something out of them.
The new job is going pretty well. I'm having trouble getting the web page to work with the editor for the calendar. CenturyLink hijacks the program in the middle of things and doesn't let me do anything. I have to get with them to straighten it out.
A beautiful young lady named Sonya moved into an office associated with the Peace and Justice Center, yesterday. I have to check if she is married. That's definitely worth hitting on if she's not.
I got an old laptop from Ebay, yesterday. Most of the time it's dead as a doornail. Every so often it chimes when I boot it. I'm going to replace the display and see if that is dead. It might only be good for parts. It had a good AC adapter, battery, and memory module. Well, today's project is to try to get it working.
Well, that's all for today.
Later
Dell Inspiron 660 Desktop Computer, Intel Core i5-3330, 8GB Memory, (Google Affiliate Ad)
I asked Mary, here, if she would like a desktop computer for her customer's use.
There is an old Imac at the Peace and Justice Center, which is something of a spare. I'm thinking of swapping it for one of my old laptops and taking it to Java John's. I would like to get $50 out of it. I put a lot of time and money into these old laptops and I feel I should get something out of them.
The new job is going pretty well. I'm having trouble getting the web page to work with the editor for the calendar. CenturyLink hijacks the program in the middle of things and doesn't let me do anything. I have to get with them to straighten it out.
A beautiful young lady named Sonya moved into an office associated with the Peace and Justice Center, yesterday. I have to check if she is married. That's definitely worth hitting on if she's not.
I got an old laptop from Ebay, yesterday. Most of the time it's dead as a doornail. Every so often it chimes when I boot it. I'm going to replace the display and see if that is dead. It might only be good for parts. It had a good AC adapter, battery, and memory module. Well, today's project is to try to get it working.
Well, that's all for today.
Later
Dell Inspiron 660 Desktop Computer, Intel Core i5-3330, 8GB Memory, (Google Affiliate Ad)
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Opera and Blogger
I just tried using the web browser, Opera, while posting to my blog. It didn't work. I had to go to Safari. Other than that, I really like Opera. It acts very similar to Chrome or Firefox. I can't use either of those because they don't work on old Macintosh PPCs. I guess that I'm stuck with Safari for tonight.
Well, I started my new job. It's going pretty well, so far. I've been loading Linux on Windows and Macintosh machines. I'm having troubles getting the Mac to work with Linux. The old PPC machines aren't supported by anyone, very much. For being as old and unsupported as they are these old Ibook G4s sure work well. I'm pretty happy with them and I just bought another one for $27 on Ebay. The shipping was another $20 so it really cost me $47. I hope I can get it going well. It comes with software and an AC adapter as well.
I messed up the network last Friday. A guy named Ken came over from Radio Shack and straightened them out. He saved my day.
Ken said that he thought Google Chrome was safe. He didn't think there was much to be afraid of as far as spyware was concerned. I think I'll load Chrome on as many computers as I can tomorrow. I'll just use Ad Blocker, and hope for the best. As it implies, the plug-in Ad Blocker blocks commercial adds from your web browsers. I think its the best protection from spyware.
I made a lot of money, shoveling snow, last Friday. We had close to 6 inches fall, mostly in the morning. I had to juggle the snow shoveling with the IT job. It worked out. I was stiff, Saturday, from all the shoveling. I think that will be the last of the major snow storms. It seemed to be melting very fast Saturday and today.
I went to LaCrosse with Jim and Sherry, today. I hung out at Barnes and Noble while they went shopping. While I was there, I ordered a couple of books on Linux Mint and LibreOffice. We'll be using those at the Peace and Justice Center.
While at Barnes and Noble, I leafed through a book by Bart Ehrman and one by Elaine Pagels. Ehrman wrote a book about the Gnostic texts that didn't make it into the Bible. Pagels had a book about the book of Revelations. I've been reading a lot about religion lately. I've even been doing the daily Christian Science bible lessons.
I'm at a fast-food chain restaurant named Culver's. I finished off a banana split and read the Sunday newspaper. I'm just blogging and listening to Itune radio. I think I'll surf Yahoo, and AOL and go home. I'm a little tired from lack of sleep yesterday.
Well, Later.
Well, I started my new job. It's going pretty well, so far. I've been loading Linux on Windows and Macintosh machines. I'm having troubles getting the Mac to work with Linux. The old PPC machines aren't supported by anyone, very much. For being as old and unsupported as they are these old Ibook G4s sure work well. I'm pretty happy with them and I just bought another one for $27 on Ebay. The shipping was another $20 so it really cost me $47. I hope I can get it going well. It comes with software and an AC adapter as well.
I messed up the network last Friday. A guy named Ken came over from Radio Shack and straightened them out. He saved my day.
Ken said that he thought Google Chrome was safe. He didn't think there was much to be afraid of as far as spyware was concerned. I think I'll load Chrome on as many computers as I can tomorrow. I'll just use Ad Blocker, and hope for the best. As it implies, the plug-in Ad Blocker blocks commercial adds from your web browsers. I think its the best protection from spyware.
I made a lot of money, shoveling snow, last Friday. We had close to 6 inches fall, mostly in the morning. I had to juggle the snow shoveling with the IT job. It worked out. I was stiff, Saturday, from all the shoveling. I think that will be the last of the major snow storms. It seemed to be melting very fast Saturday and today.
I went to LaCrosse with Jim and Sherry, today. I hung out at Barnes and Noble while they went shopping. While I was there, I ordered a couple of books on Linux Mint and LibreOffice. We'll be using those at the Peace and Justice Center.
While at Barnes and Noble, I leafed through a book by Bart Ehrman and one by Elaine Pagels. Ehrman wrote a book about the Gnostic texts that didn't make it into the Bible. Pagels had a book about the book of Revelations. I've been reading a lot about religion lately. I've even been doing the daily Christian Science bible lessons.
I'm at a fast-food chain restaurant named Culver's. I finished off a banana split and read the Sunday newspaper. I'm just blogging and listening to Itune radio. I think I'll surf Yahoo, and AOL and go home. I'm a little tired from lack of sleep yesterday.
Well, Later.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
New Job
Next week, some time, I start my new job. I'll be an IT tech for the Peace and Justice Center in Decorah. I won't actually be an employee because I'm counted as being a participant in a program which gets a government grant. It's called Experience Works. I'll have to buy some books on networking. I hope that I'll be able to use Linux, since that is where my expertise is. I networked my home computers about 10 years ago so I'm not a complete newbie.
I picked up my etching that was framed today. I took it to Java Johns and swapped it for the etching of the wagon. I told Mary to lower the price of the etchings to $500. I spent about $187 for framing them alone. I'm still asking $1000 for the etching of the plane.
Tomorrow it's supposed to snow. Apparently it will snow all day. I'll be shoveling at Java Johns. For the next 2 or 3 weeks I might have to shovel before 10 and after 3 since I'll be working for 4 hrs. a day at the Peace and Justice Center.
I've got 3 laptops that are waiting for displays. I bought another one today. It is coming with an extra battery and an extra ac adapter. It also will have install disks for Macintosh software and an adapter for the monitor. I need all of those things so I spent $51 to get the package. I hope that the software is for OS 10.5.8 because that will stream video and audio with Flashplayer. If it's the right software I might be able to get the video to stream on all of my old Ibooks.
I need to make a list of things to buy when I have money. I need a nice pair of shoes, for instance. I won't be able to go to the food pantry at the church because I'll be working at the time that they are opened. I'll have to check on that because, if they are opened until 3:30, I ought to be able to get there in time.
The keyboard on this laptop has a problem with the K key. sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. I can't afford to replace it. If I give the computer away whoever gets it will have to live with it or spend some money to replace it.
That's all for now. I might come back tomorrow while I'm waiting for more snow at Java Johns.
Later
I picked up my etching that was framed today. I took it to Java Johns and swapped it for the etching of the wagon. I told Mary to lower the price of the etchings to $500. I spent about $187 for framing them alone. I'm still asking $1000 for the etching of the plane.
Tomorrow it's supposed to snow. Apparently it will snow all day. I'll be shoveling at Java Johns. For the next 2 or 3 weeks I might have to shovel before 10 and after 3 since I'll be working for 4 hrs. a day at the Peace and Justice Center.
I've got 3 laptops that are waiting for displays. I bought another one today. It is coming with an extra battery and an extra ac adapter. It also will have install disks for Macintosh software and an adapter for the monitor. I need all of those things so I spent $51 to get the package. I hope that the software is for OS 10.5.8 because that will stream video and audio with Flashplayer. If it's the right software I might be able to get the video to stream on all of my old Ibooks.
I need to make a list of things to buy when I have money. I need a nice pair of shoes, for instance. I won't be able to go to the food pantry at the church because I'll be working at the time that they are opened. I'll have to check on that because, if they are opened until 3:30, I ought to be able to get there in time.
The keyboard on this laptop has a problem with the K key. sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. I can't afford to replace it. If I give the computer away whoever gets it will have to live with it or spend some money to replace it.
That's all for now. I might come back tomorrow while I'm waiting for more snow at Java Johns.
Later
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Rainy day at Java Johns
It's a rainy day in Decorah. I'm at Java Johns with not much to do. It's Sunday and I've done my ice scraping. Marty's house had some deep ice. It melted from the snow and built up rather deeply. I needed to at least try to get rid of it before the people went to church. I put some salt on it early in the morning but apparently the Methodists start their services at 9:00 in the morning. I was a bit late for them.
The job is coming through. I have to sign some papers tomorrow, and then there is an interview on Wednesday. I'll be working at the Peace and Justice Center. Since it's a government grant I have to avoid politics and religion. I don't know how that will work out. I'm looking forward to having a little extra money.
I'm still buying old laptops. I'll have 3 Ibook g4s working by Wednesday. I'm waiting for the displays. One will be missing the cd player but the others will both be running Macintosh 10.5.8 for the operating system. I think I'll sell one to Mary for her sound system. I'm trying to get a bluetooth sound system going at Java Johns. I need to find speakers for it but I think one of my old laptops will do just fine for streaming audio from the internet.
Selling the etchings is slowing down. I wasn't able to sell the last two. One, I decided to keep and frame. I am going to try to sell it at Java Johns. I've got 3 on display there, now. I'll swap one and hang one on my wall. While I'm at it I might as well lower my price. I've been asking $1000 for the expensive ones. I think I'll lower the prices to $500. It's a depression, after all. Anyway, I might as well post the one that I am getting framed.roadsongs.com. I couldn't get the image to upload so I linked to Malcolm's website. The etching I'm trying to sell now is 'Frenchy's Flathead Flyer" which is the first image in Malcolm's website. I've got 2 of these. One is framed and is on display at Java John's. The other is at home waiting to be sent out to a buyer. The other etching, which I'm having framed is "Back to Nature" I didn't get it sold. Well, that's all for now. I'm meeting Gary at the Co-op. Maybe I'll go to LaCrosse today.
Later.
The job is coming through. I have to sign some papers tomorrow, and then there is an interview on Wednesday. I'll be working at the Peace and Justice Center. Since it's a government grant I have to avoid politics and religion. I don't know how that will work out. I'm looking forward to having a little extra money.
I'm still buying old laptops. I'll have 3 Ibook g4s working by Wednesday. I'm waiting for the displays. One will be missing the cd player but the others will both be running Macintosh 10.5.8 for the operating system. I think I'll sell one to Mary for her sound system. I'm trying to get a bluetooth sound system going at Java Johns. I need to find speakers for it but I think one of my old laptops will do just fine for streaming audio from the internet.
Selling the etchings is slowing down. I wasn't able to sell the last two. One, I decided to keep and frame. I am going to try to sell it at Java Johns. I've got 3 on display there, now. I'll swap one and hang one on my wall. While I'm at it I might as well lower my price. I've been asking $1000 for the expensive ones. I think I'll lower the prices to $500. It's a depression, after all. Anyway, I might as well post the one that I am getting framed.roadsongs.com. I couldn't get the image to upload so I linked to Malcolm's website. The etching I'm trying to sell now is 'Frenchy's Flathead Flyer" which is the first image in Malcolm's website. I've got 2 of these. One is framed and is on display at Java John's. The other is at home waiting to be sent out to a buyer. The other etching, which I'm having framed is "Back to Nature" I didn't get it sold. Well, that's all for now. I'm meeting Gary at the Co-op. Maybe I'll go to LaCrosse today.
Later.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Job possibility
I've been applying for a job thru something called "Experience Works". It's not really a job since I would be a "participant" in the program. Apparently they have a government grant that allows them to pay people to be prepared for employment. It would be 20 hrs. a week and I would get minimum wage.
It sounds great to me. I'll hear back from them by next week. It might last up to 4 years.
I've been selling more of my etchings on Ebay. I'm not getting as much as I would like because only one buyer actually bids on each of my etchings at a time. At least they are moving.
I find myself buying too many old laptops on Ebay. I need to stop bidding on the Ibooks. They are simply to old and slow. I need to use my limited resources to get the Macbook Pros working. I could sell them at a profit on Ebay.
The van still has a problem with the heater. I think its a stuck door inside the heater itself. I felt the hoses on the control unit under the hood. They were both warm so that is apparently working. I'm thinking about getting an electric heater that I could plug into the cigarette lighter. That would keep the window from fogging over, at least. I think I'll go to Wal-Mart and pick one up today. If I get a good price for my last etching I might be able to afford to have it repaired.
I was turned down for a loan that I would have used to pay off OneMain Financial. If I get the job, I'll apply again in a couple of months. It would reduce the interest that I'm paying from 23% to 13%. I would have to pay it quicker but it's worth it.
Not much is happening here.
Later
Craig
It sounds great to me. I'll hear back from them by next week. It might last up to 4 years.
I've been selling more of my etchings on Ebay. I'm not getting as much as I would like because only one buyer actually bids on each of my etchings at a time. At least they are moving.
I find myself buying too many old laptops on Ebay. I need to stop bidding on the Ibooks. They are simply to old and slow. I need to use my limited resources to get the Macbook Pros working. I could sell them at a profit on Ebay.
The van still has a problem with the heater. I think its a stuck door inside the heater itself. I felt the hoses on the control unit under the hood. They were both warm so that is apparently working. I'm thinking about getting an electric heater that I could plug into the cigarette lighter. That would keep the window from fogging over, at least. I think I'll go to Wal-Mart and pick one up today. If I get a good price for my last etching I might be able to afford to have it repaired.
I was turned down for a loan that I would have used to pay off OneMain Financial. If I get the job, I'll apply again in a couple of months. It would reduce the interest that I'm paying from 23% to 13%. I would have to pay it quicker but it's worth it.
Not much is happening here.
Later
Craig
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
I'm back
I haven't posted for quite a while, so it's time to get back.
I sold a couple of my etchings. I'm getting $100 each for them. At least I'm making a profit. Today I shipped one to Virginia. The last one went to Spain. The advantage of selling on Ebay is that you can sell throughout the world. The disadvantage is that people can't see the real thing that you are selling.
The computers are a bust. The MacBook Pro's are too expensive to have repaired and the Ibooks are too incapable of doing streaming video to mess with. I give them to poor people through Community Action. I'm thinking of having classes for them at Java Johns so I can teach people things like downloading software for them. I'll have to talk with Joan about that. I've got 2 more that are ready to go. One is a Nobelis that I gave to Nick a long time ago. It's so old that Flashplayer doesn't support it.
I'm having trouble with this computer. It has shut down twice, now. I don't know what is going on. Alice said that her computer was doing that as well. I think it might be that I have the wrong memory chips in it. I'll have to buy some more on Ebay.
I also have troubles with the car. It doesn't warm the cab at all I think the lever for the heater is stuck. Maybe the heater valve is stuck. I'll have to take it to Dan and see if he can work on it. At least I have a little money to pay him with.
later.
I sold a couple of my etchings. I'm getting $100 each for them. At least I'm making a profit. Today I shipped one to Virginia. The last one went to Spain. The advantage of selling on Ebay is that you can sell throughout the world. The disadvantage is that people can't see the real thing that you are selling.
The computers are a bust. The MacBook Pro's are too expensive to have repaired and the Ibooks are too incapable of doing streaming video to mess with. I give them to poor people through Community Action. I'm thinking of having classes for them at Java Johns so I can teach people things like downloading software for them. I'll have to talk with Joan about that. I've got 2 more that are ready to go. One is a Nobelis that I gave to Nick a long time ago. It's so old that Flashplayer doesn't support it.
I'm having trouble with this computer. It has shut down twice, now. I don't know what is going on. Alice said that her computer was doing that as well. I think it might be that I have the wrong memory chips in it. I'll have to buy some more on Ebay.
I also have troubles with the car. It doesn't warm the cab at all I think the lever for the heater is stuck. Maybe the heater valve is stuck. I'll have to take it to Dan and see if he can work on it. At least I have a little money to pay him with.
later.
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