"I feel I'm incredibly fascinating and this blog bears witness to that simple fact. Friends, from far and wide, are often pestered to keep abreast of my life and opinions. I offer my most sincere greetings to random visitors as well."
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Saturday, February 21, 2004
It's Never Easy
Don't get me wrong, I actually ENJOY taking the cover off my computer case. I think it's fun mucking around with the innards. However, there are times when I can understand Apple's philosophy of designing everything themselves.
I have just installed a new Leadtek video capture card. The reason I bought the particular model is because it is stereo. Yet, upon installation, the software did not correctly provide the audio drivers. I scrounged on the CD and even at their website and have not even been able to find them. This is a company in Taiwan, but was the only reasonably-priced solution I could find.
There is a temporary workaround as I can use the auxiliary in on my regular audio card, but ..... grrrrr ..... why'd I pay the extra money for the hardware that's on the capture card! Here's an email I just sent off (probably to a black hole).
I tried 'membership' as I thought there might be access to a message board. I just installed the WinFast TV2000 XP.
I bought it as it is a stereo board, yet the Multimedia Software Pack does not include the WinFast TV2000 WDM Audio Capture driver.
I thought 'a way around the problem' would be to unzip your newest driver set and install manually, but the audio driver doesn't appear there either.
What can I do to make use of the hardware audio connections?
== Dennis
I have just installed a new Leadtek video capture card. The reason I bought the particular model is because it is stereo. Yet, upon installation, the software did not correctly provide the audio drivers. I scrounged on the CD and even at their website and have not even been able to find them. This is a company in Taiwan, but was the only reasonably-priced solution I could find.
There is a temporary workaround as I can use the auxiliary in on my regular audio card, but ..... grrrrr ..... why'd I pay the extra money for the hardware that's on the capture card! Here's an email I just sent off (probably to a black hole).
I tried 'membership' as I thought there might be access to a message board. I just installed the WinFast TV2000 XP.
I bought it as it is a stereo board, yet the Multimedia Software Pack does not include the WinFast TV2000 WDM Audio Capture driver.
I thought 'a way around the problem' would be to unzip your newest driver set and install manually, but the audio driver doesn't appear there either.
What can I do to make use of the hardware audio connections?
== Dennis
Friday, February 20, 2004
They Know How to Relax
I wasn't intending to scan an image for today's entry; however, I accidently opened a word processing document in one folder. The file is called myhistory.doc. It consists of pages I've added over many years and it simply highlights an event for each month since my graduation from college. Some sections are not complete but I did notice that I'd written something for February 1994.
Ten years! Hey, it was a long time ago that we visited Kenya but I can easily recall the few weeks spent there. We stayed in Nairobi, in a safari camp, and at a seaside resort in Mombasa.
From the confines of a tourist van, we chased around these guys and Africa's
'Big 5' animals of the Savannah.
Ten years! Hey, it was a long time ago that we visited Kenya but I can easily recall the few weeks spent there. We stayed in Nairobi, in a safari camp, and at a seaside resort in Mombasa.
From the confines of a tourist van, we chased around these guys and Africa's
'Big 5' animals of the Savannah.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Coincidence
Strangely, I mentioned the word psychedelic in last Saturday's entry. It was in reference to my photo of John Lennon's Rolls Royce.
Then in today's paper I read about the death of Humphry F. Osmond, 86.
Then in today's paper I read about the death of Humphry F. Osmond, 86.
Geographical Mosaic
Our foreign correspondent, Don, offered this response to yesterday's blog entry.
(Isn't the phrase newspaper correspondent rather old-fashioned? In my mind, it conjures up an image of a smoke-filled, wood-paneled bar with an unshaven journalist in a trench coat sipping on a 'straight-up' whiskey from a dirty glass.)
Interesting map. I keep forgetting a.) that Vancouver Island is so big and b.) that so much of it is below the border. It appears that it would be a relatively short boat/ferry ride directly south to the US and not such a long drive to Seattle or Olympia. I have no idea of the geography of that area.
I also just found out there is an island just off the coast of Newfoundland that is French. And then Bermuda is still British. And I'm never sure of the status of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. And there are other Caribbean Islands that belong to the British and French and there's one part of which belongs to the British, one part to the French and one part to the Netherlands, each using that country's currency and flying that country's flag and speaking the appropriate language. And what about Belize (formerly British Honduras, I think) tucked somewhere on the Mexican/Central American peninsula? And the island of Hispanola occupied half by Haiti, formerly French and the Dominican Republic, Spanish.
History, politics and geography obviously played a part in these mosaics. If we think that geo-politics and economics of today is a power play, what they must have been in the 19th century.
(Isn't the phrase newspaper correspondent rather old-fashioned? In my mind, it conjures up an image of a smoke-filled, wood-paneled bar with an unshaven journalist in a trench coat sipping on a 'straight-up' whiskey from a dirty glass.)
Interesting map. I keep forgetting a.) that Vancouver Island is so big and b.) that so much of it is below the border. It appears that it would be a relatively short boat/ferry ride directly south to the US and not such a long drive to Seattle or Olympia. I have no idea of the geography of that area.
I also just found out there is an island just off the coast of Newfoundland that is French. And then Bermuda is still British. And I'm never sure of the status of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. And there are other Caribbean Islands that belong to the British and French and there's one part of which belongs to the British, one part to the French and one part to the Netherlands, each using that country's currency and flying that country's flag and speaking the appropriate language. And what about Belize (formerly British Honduras, I think) tucked somewhere on the Mexican/Central American peninsula? And the island of Hispanola occupied half by Haiti, formerly French and the Dominican Republic, Spanish.
History, politics and geography obviously played a part in these mosaics. If we think that geo-politics and economics of today is a power play, what they must have been in the 19th century.
Labels: Don
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
A War over a Pig?
There's a lot of history everywhere!We all tend to focus on history that is approachable. This often means that we find it easier to study local historical events rather than the broad tide of human experience. We may think we learn history so that we won't repeat the mistakes of the past. Yet if we were a bit more objective, we'd note that we generally use history as a type of socialization. Studying history helps us feel part of an inclusive group.
There's a lot of history that we ignore everywhere!
The last time U.S. and British forces were opposed was during the American Revolution, right? Yikes, I guess we could move nearly nine decades beyond that point and find a more recent conflict. In order to really understand the history of the area were I now live, one would have to understand the historical currents that led to ...
... the Pig War.
The immense forces of the westward expansion, the ideals of a manifest destiny, and the interest in gold combined to create a conflict more about territorial integrity than anything to do with a single pig.
Why didn't I know about this until recently? Perhaps the US Civil War stole the limelight. Or maybe I wasn't ready to understand the Pig War's importance. Live and learn!
Labels: pig
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Pomp
One week ago today, when we were in Victoria, the Legislative Assembly re-opened for its spring session. The whole affair turned out to be quite a big deal. We heard the sound of the cannons. The crowd on the lawn wasn't too large, but there were several 'protesters' on hand. We spotted the Premier, Gordon Campbell, greeting Iona Campagnolo, the Lieutenant Governor. They climbed the main, red-carpeted stairs. (The Premier's role is similar to that of a US governor and Ms. Campagnolo is the official BC representative for the Queen of England and officiates at important, provincial events.)
The story of why an island city hosts the seat of of government is rather interesting. Maybe I will comment on that at some future date.
The story of why an island city hosts the seat of of government is rather interesting. Maybe I will comment on that at some future date.
Labels: British Columbia, government, Vancouver Island
Monday, February 16, 2004
Price Roll-Backs Continue
Is it just me or are many products cheap nowadays?
In the classic example of falling prices, we always examine technological advances in personal computers. I'm looking to buy a DVD burner now and they are a whole lot cheaper than my first simple CDROM reader of the early 1990's. I once paid nearly $500 for an 80 megabyte (not gigabyte) hard disk. Now we get a thousand times more space at a quarter of the price. I will also admit that technology is constantly providing many new and interesting goodies to buy.
Yet, it's not only hi-tech items that appear cheap. I went to Sears yesterday ... okay, it WAS an outlet store, but I'm often amazed at prices. I am sure that a good pair of dress shoes cost the same or less now than when I was a child. Ditto for an average bicycle. Big box stores can offer a microwave oven at practically give-away prices. (I bet every dorm room nowadays has one unlike during my college days -- in the late 70's & early 80's.)
If we examine the hours of work needed to purchase many basic goods and services, I think we've moved considerably ahead in the last thirty years. As proof, I'd like to suggest that most households own a greater quantity of junk than ever before. I'm sure this phenomena can be traced to many facts:
We've conditioned ourselves to think of inflation as a normal fact of life. Maybe it isn't. You may or may not share my views. What do you think? Jot out a message to me.
In the classic example of falling prices, we always examine technological advances in personal computers. I'm looking to buy a DVD burner now and they are a whole lot cheaper than my first simple CDROM reader of the early 1990's. I once paid nearly $500 for an 80 megabyte (not gigabyte) hard disk. Now we get a thousand times more space at a quarter of the price. I will also admit that technology is constantly providing many new and interesting goodies to buy.
Yet, it's not only hi-tech items that appear cheap. I went to Sears yesterday ... okay, it WAS an outlet store, but I'm often amazed at prices. I am sure that a good pair of dress shoes cost the same or less now than when I was a child. Ditto for an average bicycle. Big box stores can offer a microwave oven at practically give-away prices. (I bet every dorm room nowadays has one unlike during my college days -- in the late 70's & early 80's.)
If we examine the hours of work needed to purchase many basic goods and services, I think we've moved considerably ahead in the last thirty years. As proof, I'd like to suggest that most households own a greater quantity of junk than ever before. I'm sure this phenomena can be traced to many facts:
When people can save a few pennies they often choose the cheaper of two items. This helps explain why foreign goods flood this continent.
Many companies can keep prices low because of more efficient distribution networks.
Increased productivity per worker creates manufacturing savings.
An enormous company, such as Walmart, buys in such huge quantities that it can dictate prices. I'm sure manufacturers have to squeeze every penny in order to guarantee a seat at the retailers' table.
We've conditioned ourselves to think of inflation as a normal fact of life. Maybe it isn't. You may or may not share my views. What do you think? Jot out a message to me.
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Selected Sunday Song
Sundays have become my 'song days', I guess.
After yesterday's picture, I had to go with something
by The Beatles and after seeing the Rolls Royce's paint
job, Strawberry Fields Forever seemed perfect.
Labels: music
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