Monday, July 20, 2009

Another laptop bites the dust


One of my Gateway laptops developed an intermittent problem, this morning. It acts like I'm opening many options very quickly. This one is missing a CMOS battery. So I'll buy a battery and see if that fixes it. I don't think it will, since this problem has shown up on this computer,before. I think I'll just have to scrap it out. That's probably why someone sold it on Ebay in the first place.
I keep having problems with the word processor that comes with this blog. I need to learn how to use another one and then transfer it to the blog.
Another thing I need to look into is a list of recommended books. I read somewhere that you can add that to your blog.
I included a picture of the dining area at the co-op. It's where I write these blogs a lot. I can have a banana for under 40 cents and spend an hour or so just computing. One problem, though, is their connection. It's very restricted. I can't get to my emails, or Etrade. It's also so slow that it messes up my streaming audio. Another problem is that they have 50s music on their PA system. It's so loud that I couldn't hear my audio, if it was working.
I'm now trying to load my New Age music that is on the hard drive. I'm having problems with that, as well.
I got Banshee to work. Now I can listen to my own music. But the background noise is drowning out my music. I think I'll go to Bookends which is always quiet and their internet always works. If it wasn't for the bananas, I don't think I would come here much.
For the disabled. You are probably wondering what there is to do with your time, now that you have more time than money:
1. Take up reading. You can go to the library for free and check out books. They usually have books for sale, as well. You can probably get some paperbacks for 50 cents or less. They might have free internet access for your laptop as well. Ours has it. And its the fastest internet in town.
2. Get a hobby. Mine is fixing old laptops. It comes from my 35 years as an electronics technician. I like fixing things. I don't have the test equipment or the documentation to go very deep into repairing old laptops. But I enjoy the feeling of getting something to work.
3. Volunteer. There are places that need retired people to put in their time and expertise. SCORE Service Corps OF Retired People is one of them. They are retired business people who help others get and keep their business running. The library is a place to ask about such groups.
The co-op also needs volunteer dishwashers. They get a discount on their purchases.
4. Join organizations. I'm in the Democrat party. You might think about the United Way and other such charity organizations. The food pantry, here, is run by, and at the Lutheran Church. They need people to process the recipients of their food.
5. Hang out at coffee shops and read newspapers, and surf the Web. That's what I do with much of my time. It's also a good place to read books.
Feel free to list other options in the comments section.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Intermittant memory problems


I got up early, this morning. The first thing I did was to go for coffee at Java Johns. Then I went home and started the memory check program that comes on the installation disk of many forms of Linux.
I discovered a memory problem on one of my Thinkpads. It appeared that all of my memory sticks were bad. When I tried them in the other Thinkpad, they worked. I tried replacing the CMOS battery. Then I tried swapping the cd players. The problem stayed with the computer. Maybe there is something wrong with the motherboard. I don't know. I decided not to give away that computer. It would just have intermitant problems. I'll use it for scrap. I might get another shell of a Thinkpad 390X and put everything into it. I'll see.
I got the other Thinkpad's sound to work. I loaded Suse 11.1, and then used alsaconf. It had to be run from the command line. I had to tell it not to modify modprobe. What ever that is. It worked until I loaded the updates. Then I had to do it again.
I loaded a picture of Barret. He was pointing his table cleaning sprayer at me, at the co-op.
He's back lit so I don't know if it will turn our very well.
I'm at the co-op now. I'm listening to New Age music on the Thinkpad while I type away. I'm being a bit cheap, today. It's Sunday, and I don't feel like going to the ATM. I've got a couple of dollars until I cash Dave's check for the Gateway.
The internet from the co-op isn't working at all. I'm hooked up to someone whose router is named Linksys.
That all for now. I think I'll go home and run the memory checking program on the 2 Gateways.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Got up at 5 this morning


I got up early to help the Democrats set up for their book sale. It turned out that they already set things up yesterday.
So I went to Java Johns to load some updates on my new, old Gateway. Their internet dropped me in the middle of things 2, or 3 times. From there I went to Magpies. I had troubles there as well. I ended up linking to someone names Intellinet. That worked. Bookends seems to be the only place that works consistently. I just have to remember to bring the right wifi card.
Today, I'm using the Gateway that has a bad USB port. That means I'll have to take out the wifi module while I upload a picture from the memory board. I'll do that in a minute. I have the time to mess with it.
I got a wifi card in the mail. It's a 'B' version. It won't work at Bookends and Beans. I'll have to try it at the co-op.
I found a DVD player on one of the Gateways. I might be able to sell it to Dave. He expressed interest in having something to watch videos with. He'll need a faster machine to make it really work. Maybe I can find a 700 Meghz. machine. Even that would be pushing it. The battery on this machine seems to work. That is practically a miracle. Batteries don't last that long.
It's still cold, today. I'm wearing a sweater that I normally put away in May or June.
I think I'll try uploading a picture, now.
I uploaded a picture of a bee, at the hospital's flowers, on Montgomery St.
The bee is a bit blurred but what can you expect with a $20 camera. I could get better pictures with a hundred dollar camera, but then I would have to learn how to use it as well.
Maybe I'll do that as a hobby. It would be cheaper than putting together old laptops. After I have 100 Delphi bond, I'll think about getting into that hobby as well.
I still haven't had any success at dowsing for the lottery number. I tried it Wednesday. I didn't even get 1 number right. I might keep trying but I don't think I'll post my numbers since they don't seem to win.
You've been appealing your disability now for 2 years. Now it's time to get a lawyer. You need a lawyer for the hearing. Maybe you could have gotten one for the appeal process but you probably handled that yourself. When you get into the hearing you will feel better to have a lawyer.
The good news is that there is no 'out of pocket' costs. The lawyer will get paid on contingency. If he wins he'll get 25% of your back pay or $5300, whichever is less. If you don't win there is no costs. That protects you if you lose. You don't need added expenses if you lose. I think the fee for the lawyer is mandated by law, so you don't have to negotiate it.
An important question is: How do you find a lawyer?
Most lawyer don't want the job. Like I said their fees are limited by law and there aren't any if they lose.
I would talk to friends and neighbors about local lawyers. I got a referral from a state agency that led me to 3 lawyers. 2 of them turned me down.
Binder and Binder advertises nation-wide. At least if you call them you'll know that they do take Social Security cases. They even advertise on this blog. You might try them.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Cold day in July

It's July and it's cold enough to wear jackets. What's with the weather?
I walked from Freeport to Bookends and Beans and then back again. That's close to 9 miles. I had to wear a pullover sweatshirt. It's that cold. normally we would be dropping from the heat at this time of year. Maybe we have global warming to blame for the cold. It's probably warm as heck at the Arctic. I appreciate the cold, though.
I didn't post yesterday. I was so caught up in fixing old laptops that I forgot. I got the sound to work on the 2 Thinkpad 390X's. I loaded Linux Mint 7 and then loaded the updates. Apparently one of the updates fixes the problem. I had one of them revert back to not working on the sound, today. I tried everything I could think of. Then I reloaded Linux Mint and did the updates and it worked.
I got the bad Gateway 9300 working. I just put a working hard drive with Suse Linux on it, in. I had to find some good memory cards but the noisy problem went away. It is still missing the memory cover and a good CMOS battery. I'm tempted to use duct tape for the memory cover. The battery is on order at Venture Computers. I'm tempted to take the bad battery to Radio Shack and see if they have one.
I didn't get the picture loaded today because I left the Sandisk memory card at home. I might be able to load a picture of the huge cat, but you saw that a couple of days ago.
I actually sold one of my old laptops. Dave, at WRAP bought one of the Gateways. He's working so he isn't really a charity case. His wife will get a lot of use out of it, since she's going to school, this Fall.
I might be able to get some pictures, later. I'm going to the co-op to update the Gateway. I put a marginal hard drive into the good Gateway. I loaded Suse Linux, on it. Now, I'm going to update it.
Later.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Why the Dog Left


My sister emailed me this picture. I don't know the woman, but that is some cat.
I gave away my first free laptop, last night. I was going to give it to Jennell, but I bumped into Dave W. first. He's unemployed and he likes to look for internet businesses that he can try. I had my slowest Thinkpad working so I gave it to him. He seemed quite happy to get it. I'm glad for him.
He's been looking into going to school while he's unemployed. At NICC (Northeast Iowa Community College) they told him that he wouldn't qualify for the TAA program. I told him to keep plugging away on it. What the Workforce Development people say is more important than what they say at the college. After all, they would be the ones to continue paying him unemployment on that program. He's also looking into what the V.A. might be able to do for him.
The markets went up, today. The Dow went up over 250 points and gold went up over $16. Oil went up as well, close to $2.00. Maybe it's telling us that inflation is back. More likely it's just a fluke. The earnings reports seem to be good. But I think it's just a trap. I'm keeping my money in bonds.
I think I'll get out and get some more pictures. I live in such a scenic place. I'm caught up in fixing old computers and trading bonds. Sometimes I just forget to enjoy where I'm at.
Well, I'm back to working on old laptops. I've got Suse linux on both of my Thinkpad 390X's. The sound doesn't work right. Noise comes out. I thought that I had that fixed but I don't. I tried loading the latest Mandriva (2009). It took forever to just load the live portion. When I tried to install it, it took even longer. I then tried Mint Linux (version 7). It would load but the sound was no better than Suse's. I think I'll just give these away without the sound working. I could load Windows 2000 but they no longer support the updated on that distribution. I don't know what to do. I'll think it over tonight. Maybe I'll ask Alice what she thinks. She has Windows 2000 on her 390X. Maybe that is good enough.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

New reader


I've got a new reader. Her name is Josie. She works at the co-op. That's her picture, albeit fuzzy. I must have moved when I took it. Maybe I'll get a clearer one, later.
I now have 3 laptops ready to give away. An ac adapter came in the mail, and I had the battery fixed for one of the others. I'm waiting for a cd player and another ac adapter and I'll have 2 more, ready to go. I just have to track down the people that I'm giving them to.
I'm quite happy with Suse Linux. It has everything to get these old laptops working. The only problems that I'm having is with the sound. I need faster processors to run the audio and video programs at all well. That's why I'm switching to buying faster machines on Ebay. I think I'll concentrate on Thinkpad A31's and later. I should still be able to get them fairly cheaply and yet, they will do the sound and video. At least, I hope they do. We'll see.
I'm at the co-op, using one of the old Thinkpad 390's. I was hoping to run into Jennell. I'm going to give her this one so she doesn't have to fight the desktops at the library. They are too slow. One of the problems is that they have about 20 or 30 networked together. Another problem is their restrictions on use. They have to be so carefull about pornography that they cripple all of their machines. Jennell also said that she is concerned about viruses on the keyboards.
The market didn't make much of a move today. It went up 25 points, on the Dow Jones Industrials. I'm kind of glad that we aren't getting the massive moves that we used to get. Maybe things are getting better. I'm sticking to bonds for the next 5 years or so. When Geitner says that we are coming out of the recession I don't believe him. I just see what is happening as a result of sending our money to Saudi Arabia and China, and sending our jobs to China as well. I doubt that anything will get better. The rich will just line their pockets at the expense of the poor, like they've always have done.
I am happy that the markets seem to have settled down, however.
I'm just not inspired to write much more, today. Maybe I'll continue when I come back to town for the free coffee at the co-op, after 7:00.

Monday, July 13, 2009


I'm running low on photos. I know that I ran this picture of Trout Run Creek before. The batteries are low on my camera, so until I buy some more batteries I'll have to repeat the pictures. This one is probably my favorite of Trout Run Creek, anyway.
I was watching the "Dave Ramsey Show" the other night. In it he had a woman who called an complained about how she was limited by being on welfare. If she got a job and increased her income she wouldn't be eligible to live in her rent-assisted apartment.
Dave told her to break out of welfare and get a job that pays something.
This isn't bad advice for someone who (has it together). What about the people who don't? What if you keep losing your jobs due to the voices in your head, or the conversations you have with the president?
How do you tell if you are disabled enough to be on Social Security.
I don't know. For some people it might be obvious. If you are blind or lost your limbs it is apparent that you are disabled.
For people who have less apparent problems the question is trickier.
Only you and your doctor can make that judgment.
I think it is made easier if you find yourself working one minimum wage job after another. After all, as poor as disability is, it still tends to pay more that minimum wage.
And keep in mind, that if it takes years for you to get Social Security, you will get all that back pay. This could easily be the largest sum of money that you will ever acquire.
Maybe the best bet is to keep your options open and keep your appeal going while you look for a good job.
Its true that disability is limiting but it may be your best bet.