Desktop space heater

Since my laptop went on the blink I’d been using the Mac Mini that was our MythTV frontend as my primary computer. Making out the text from the couch wasn’t all that easy (or convenient, as odd as it might sound). I decided to revive my old desktop PC so I could work from upstairs.

Problem was, the desktop PC had a bum power supply. I picked up another one yesterday from Intrex and popped it into the desktop. I was quite pleased to hear the fans start whirring and the hard drive spin up after almost a year of silence.Unfortunately, that was all I got from it. It never got to the POST stage.

I’ll clean it off and reseat all of the components as some may have jiggled loose during our March move. Its doubtful I’ll sink much work into it, though, with twice-as-fast barebones systems being sold by TigerDirect for $150 (yeah, I say that as if that’s a bargain for a PC – and it normally would be if one has a job!).

For now, the Mac Mini has become my primary computer, which is fine for now as MythTV isn’t quite healthy yet, either.

Fully high definition

I’m happy to report that, other than a fun weekend with the family, I do have one success story to report: I’ve successfully switched all of our televisions to ATSC-only reception. For the analog Sony that of course is the Channel Master CM-7000 converter box. For our den big-screen TV, that is the built-in tuner. For our MythTV box, that is a new Avermedia MCE A180 HDTV tuner card.

The main thing that happened this weekend was wiring up our broadcast antenna in the attic. I’d initially pointed the antenna to the tower cluster in Auburn, NC where most of Raleigh’s TV stations transmit. This left the channel we watch the most, PBS on Chapel Hill’s WUNC, weak and fading. Then I realized that being in downtown Raleigh, we’re already well-covered by the Auburn antennas. Thus, I could point the antenna to WUNC’s tower (31 miles away) and get a good signal from all the stations.
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Van and trailer pictures

The MT.Net gallery has some pictures of the totaled van (and not-so-totaled trailer). Please be patient and don’t total my cable modem as these pics are hosted at home.

A good portion of the estimated $7000 it would cost to repair it is tied up in replacing the entire left side unibody. Looking at it you would think its just the door that needs replacing.

Attitude

Its been fun answering honestly whenever someone asks me “how are you?” I stopped by Garner’s world-famous Agri-Supply to get parts for the damaged trailer and that question was inevitably asked.

“Look at him,” one good ol’ boy shop worker called to the other. “The kind of week he’s had and he’s still smiling.”

After his buddy picked his jaw up off the floor, the first turned to me again.

“I can tell you gonna be okay,” he said. “If that don’t faze you, nothin’ will!”

True enough. Its been a wonderfully fun day. I spent the evening wrestling two gleeful, giggling kids.

The van? Its just a thing. The job? I’ll find another. The love of my family and friends? That’s what its all about.

Silver lining

It hasn’t been all bad news this week. We got word from our insurance provider that we’ll be getting a hefty check for our totaled van: one pretty close to Blue Book value! The folks at Farm Bureau were easy to deal with and seemed to get things done quickly.

The other nice thing is that we don’t need to replace the van right away. I obviously have no job to drive to (and didn’t drive to my last one) and since car dealers are losing their shirts right now we can bide our time to the end of the quarter or later if we choose. The money may come in handy for more immediate needs (like, uh, the mortgage) in the meantime.

Or I may get that scooter I’ve been meaning to get and become one of the cool kids.

Trifecta complete

As Chris so helpfully pointed out (or was he cursing me?), trouble comes in threes. If so, I can now breathe easier because this afternoon as I prepared to resume job hunting I discovered my laptop will no longer power up its hard drive. Its not that the hard drive is broken – its just that my Thinkpad isn’t powering the drive at all.

I think its an internal power supply problem rather than the drive itself, which is good news and bad news. The good news is that I don’t have to fear losing any of my data. The bad news is that there wasn’t valuable data on it anyway and I can change a hard drive in my sleep, its so easy. Vague power supply problems, not so much.

I am so buying a lottery ticket tomorrow.

Seven days

Last week I felt like I could change the world. This week, not so much.

Why I was laid off

My former place of employment was an interesting place: one with a split personality. There were offices in the U.S. and a headquarters in Germany, with radically different business styles. Different styles is precisely why two offices are needed – a company needs to understand the business culture of the country in which it does business. What works in Germany does not work here and vice-versa.

It was in this cultural tug-of-war that I got caught. My official boss was in Germany while at the same time I had a boss that was local. Each had different visions for what my role was supposed to be. The adage about pleasing two masters applies here in a big way.
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Job hunting

I updated my resume last night and snagged about six job descriptions off the Internets to get me started. I’m holding out for a cabinet-level position with Obama’s administration but if that doesn’t come through I’ll need a backup plan.

Still trying to decide what I’d like to do. There are plenty of things I can do, but I’m not the same person now as I was when I did those things.

I should have more to say about the layoff experience later today. Right now I’ve got a Parks and Rec tour of Sanderford Road’s new neighborhood center to attend.