The Time Sink

We got one heck of a lot done yesterday, especially considering the lack of sleep Friday night and all the goings on Saturday! ...but even with the tiredness and such, the kids managed to get book reports started (and one done); Shelley made a store run and I did a bunch of outside work...

...and I even had a helper: once Brad was finished with his school work, he joined me in sprinkler repair, lamp repair, and patio cleaning. Hmmm... This having a helper thing could work out okay, ya' think?

This week may prove to be another long one at work; all the signs and portents are pointing... Daniel will know more today about his leg; they took more X-Rays yesterday and the doc didn't change his opinion. He's okay as long as he keeps his weight off it and he's learning how to plan ahead on things. This may be a good experience in some ways...

Cast it is! From what Shelley learned from the ortho crowd, it's a sure thing and he's out of soccer for at least two months. ...which is real close to the end of the season. Time will tell: we'll see how quickly he can rehab in about a month.

Homework continues apace, but at a lower intensity than last year. Thank goodness we seem to have humans running both classes this year! I may toss up a shot of one of Daniel's projects when he and Shelley finish it up: they needed a stock photo of the ocean/a beach and Shelley was getting ready to go searching then net. That's when I mentioned that I run my own stock site <g>. The both seemed pleased, so I'll let you know how it turns out (if I can get the shot).

...and if we can get a solid night's sleep, it'll be time to start up the Great Migration once again; that computer cart in the kitchen is ready for round one. That would be that bargain Compaq box getting its dual bootery going and establishing some connectivity with the rest of the household (likely wireless to start).

As I was waiting in line at the local Office Depot, one of those little problems came up that sometimes is a show stopper for a small office. This group had purchased an HP 3820 printer and had hoped to share it with several users... Yeah, just like HP did with some of the 600 and 700 series, this model won't 'share'. ...and the suggestion on the web site is to drop several hundred more dollars in the pot for an HP JetDirect.

...or maybe not. The basic problem is that the software doesn't set up the $Printer folder. ...so when you share the printer, and then try to add it across the network, you end up with a null set: "unable to install; missing xxx.xxx" or some such. ...or better yet, "Unable to locate printer on lpt1:; aborting install". Here's one workaround that I've used at home and at the office:

1. Install the printer at its permanent machine.
2. Set sharing on that machine.
3. Either copy the installation files to a central, shared directory or haul them around with you.
4. Grab the printer and a parallel cable (I haven't tried this one with a USB printer) and march off to each machine you want to have access to the printer.
5. Set the printer up on each machine as a local printer.
6. Go to the printer's "Properties" tab and change the port from the local port to the shared port where the printer lives full time! (Look it up under 'network'; you may even be able to simply point to it.)
7. Spend the $300 you saved on pizza every Friday for a while.

I finally spent some time last night working on the system revamp here. I took that Compaq bargain unit I found and added in a video card, another HDD and a one of those Antec DataChute PCMCIA units I like so much...

So, of course, since all that went so well, I decided to stick a Win2k CD in when I fired it up. ...at 2359. Yeah, you know... I really should break myself of that habit...

Ah, nope; I didn't forget. On the otherhand, "Goodnight" seems most appropriate...

I'm getting a little tired of weekend Plan B stuff... Last night's Plan A was to head off to bed and try to get some sleep instead of doing my usual Friday night gig. The only trick there is that I tend to wake up about five hours or so after I go to sleep. That works well for the 0000->0530 sleep shift, but can be a hassle at other times. Like last night...

I packed it in at 2230 or so and just passed out. I had the curtains shut and the doors pulled to and had great plans for sleeping in or a least letting Shelley sleep in. Those plans held right up until 0330. Yeah, wide awake... I did manage to fall back asleep on and off until 0500, but that was it. So up and at 'em! I figured I'd make my morning latte and hit the streets blading at first light; that would give me a head start on the day. ...and that would be good for cleaning in the library and the garage since not much got done on those this week.

'Twas not to be... Ants once again. We've been dealing with them all week ever since the nights got cooler (it's still hitting 99 during the afternoons). We've had the pros out twice so far, with another visit scheduled for this morning to touch up a bit. ...but when I got up, there was another outbreak through one of the kitchen cabinets and onto the counter. Wrong choice, guys. ...but instead of blading, I ended up rinsing pots and pans and vacuuming cupboards and working up a sweat before my coffee!

"The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah..." Yepper, the Pro from Dover will be coming back again in the morning, but I think we're ahead.