LaurenandLloyd.com

where our wasted time becomes your wasted time

computer

My evenings

by 12 Comments

It’s the last week of preschool* and I ‘m getting some stuff done at home.

One of the things I am most thankful for is this ol’ iMac. It makes me look like a GREAT teacher! This was the first year I got my act together and sorted out (by child) the digital pictures we take at school so every child can have their own DVD of the year. This machine makes the process go lickety-split! So that’s what I’ll be doing the next couple of evenings. Yee-haw.

It’s a magic machine.

(*That doesn’t really mean much. Summer is almost the same as the rest of the year – I still have to plan the day’s work, but I can wear shorts if I want! (I don’t. ) For those of you who care about the details, the three-year-olds join us (the four-and-five-and-thirty-eight-year-olds) for the whole day. We still have stories, centers and Jesus Time, but there are a LOT more bathroom visits.)

Finally over

by 15 Comments

UPDATE:  Hang on, guys.  The website was down last night, so Lloyd’s article didn’t get posted.  He’ll fix it after he gets ready.

BTW:  Happy Birthday, Deborah!

As some of you know, I’ve been working on a new website for Lincoln Lutheran on and off for about 3 years. There’s never been enough time in the day to work on it much during the school year, so last summer I decided that I would just do it. I was aided by the fact that the Game of the Summer really sucked and Brad had a new nephew to keep him busy.

This would look really cutting edge if it was still 2004

I think I did a nice job if I do say so myself. I don’t know how much schools are normally charged for a new website, but I got a flyer in the mail at the start of the school year that had a coupon for $5,000.00 off. The best part of the website is that it takes information in a central location (news and calendar items) and automatically distributes them to very specific subpages. For example, if you put a choir concert on the main calendar or post an announcement about it, that information automatically appears on the choir page (and on the music department page). Basically, I am very, very lazy. For instance:

I didn’t want to answer a lot of questions about the new website, so there’s a tour you can take. I was tired of trying to figure out when people had the computer lab reserved, so there’s a reservation system. I didn’t want to have to do so much work for our Middle School Fun Nights, now there’s an online handbook.

I don’t mind doing work, as long as the net result is that I can sleep more.

Aw Nuts

by 19 Comments

So, we went into Lincoln the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I don’t remember what we went in for, But I wanted to stop by Best Buy to get the latest version of iLife for Lauren’s iMac. I was surprised to see that some of the door buster deals from Black Friday were still there. They had a computer game that I was going to eventually get around to buying called Bioshock, and it was half price. I had to have it. And they also had extra memory for the computer, and that’s always good to have.

Some say it's better than Halo 3

I got home and installed the memory in the computer (3 Gig, can you believe it?) and tried to install the game. Not only did it not work, it completely shut down the computer. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not like normal men. Computers bow to my every whim. But my computer was having no part of it. Nothing I did made the slightest difference. Here are the steps if you want to try trouble shooting: (1) put the Bioshock disc in the computer (2) the computer shuts down.

Well, I was having trouble with my video card anyway, and I thought that it just wasn’t cutting it even for the autorun program for the game. For the last two weeks I’ve been trying to decide what kind of video card to get. I’ve even called cousin Sam twice, but I couldn’t catch him at home, and it seems like he’s too good to return my calls now.

Eventually I decided to buy a really shiny video card. It’s one that would normally be out of my price range, but it was an open box special. It’s at least 4 times as shiny as my last video card, and it came in the mail today. I got home at 5:10 and was disappointed that it wasn’t here, but it pulled in about 5:30. Thanks UPS.

48 Pixel shader processors, 8 Vertex shader processors, 8 Geometry Pipelines

I put in the new video card and everything seemed good. I (1) put the Bioshock disc in the computer (2) the computer shut down. Once again, let me state for the record that this sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen to me. So… hmmm… what happens if I put another game in the computer? Nope, everything is fine. So… hmmm… what happens if I (1) put another DVD in the computer (2) the computer shuts down. Okay, that seems like the problem. It doesn’t seem to matter what the DVD is. Bioshock or Searching for Bobby Fischer – either way.

Well, now I need a new DVD player and I’ve wasted (game cost x 5) on the new video card. But I’m not really sad about that, because I’ve got a shiny new video card. I think I’ve got a DVD drive sitting around at school that I can use until I get around to buying a new one. So I’m looking up what a new drive will cost when blammo, the shiny new video card wigs out. Fluke? Restart and 30 minutes later, blammo. So now I have to return the shiny new video card (15% restocking fee).

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

What we’ve been up to.

by 7 Comments

The past two Saturdays and much of the Sundays have been spent at Lloyd’s school getting these eight AV carts ready for use in classrooms.  It involved strapping down a DVD/VCR player, a set of speakers, a power strip, a retractable extension cord (which Lloyd had to cut and re-wire the ends), a projector, then wrapping and securing all the cables, then labeling them.  Sounds easy enough, eh?  My role was to tote, carry, and most importantly – drill holes.  Hole drilling is key.  It’s over now, they all work, and perhaps next Saturday we’ll be able to do something fun.  Oh wait – Lloyd will be sick.

Hole drilling is key.

Who's hurting their back now, huh?

Finished, but what's that?

Getting closer.....

They all have names.

Ha!

by 16 Comments

Lloyd is wicked funny! I came home from a long day to find a new desktop picture on the Mac.

I love the view.

Busy Saturday ahead – I have the plans and possible gumption to take in the recycling and perhaps do something about that dang leaky sink in the bathroom. Ahoy, Saturday!

Taxes – Check!

by 6 Comments

They’re done, with only days to spare.  Way to go, Lloyd!  I have no picture of it actually taking place, but Lloyd said, “Just use any ol’ picture of me sitting at the computer.”  Ok, how ’bout a montage?

Could they be related?

You've seen this before.

He denys that he likes the cat, but...

he likes the cat!

That’s all.   Safe travels to Amsterdam, Brad.  Don’t die, and don’t have any fun, either.

Â