Sunday, December 29, 2002
I made it out to the farm by noon - my own little piece of Kansas dirt - the sun is setting and it's beautiful just beyond the trees. Saw "my" turkeys as I drove past on the south - we figure there must be at least a hundred around here.
My satellite connection for the internet is giving me fits. I'm so spoiled with my cable modem connection in town that it is even more frustrating. I just had my computer tech out here (paying on site rates) to figure out what was wrong with the computer and the connection. The newer version of the Starband software was the biggest part of the problem and he got it to work when he reverted back to the older version (2 something). Well, it had the prompt to download the newer version and I pushed the damn button. Several minutes were spent as I could not get XP to boot - I finally did - don't ask me how - but know my Starband "mission control" (why an oxymoron) is out of commission. I will be good and not mess with it any more - since I can't believe I got XP to boot after several failed attempts - and call my computer tech tomorrow and see if he can walk me through it. Otherwise, I will haul it in to him and hopefully he can fix it there. Then to get the actual dish stabilized from the wind gusts (we followed "the directions" when installing it and asked if it should be better stabilized and were told no - I usually overdo things and the one time I didn't...............) anyway....I at least want the software operational so when the satellite is steady I'm good to go. Anyone who has any experience (good or otherwise :} ) with Starband -would be much appreciated if you'd offer any assistance. My brother just put in DirecWay and it seems even more problematic - especially when it has to "reset" itself every hour...........the wonders of technology. At least I have a good old modem to fall back on - but just frustratingly so.
I took a ride on the fourwheeler around the section since the gravel roads are sufficiently mushy from the snow melt - we had our "whitest" Christmas ever and it was great!
I'm interested to see if blogging will help me do more writing - there are so many things that seem to pop to the top of the list that it's hard to find concentrated time - especially with a 12/12 teaching load. As with other universities, ours is moving forward and expects more publishing - but no actual release time for it and of course no graduate assistants to help with grading or even research. But I love the students at our school of just under 7k. My university does "count" my forays into technology and new media and for that I am thankful. Those extra projects help me pay for my computer equipment. If I were totally relying on what the school provides, I would still be relying on a first generation Pentium with 16k of memory............and I'm the dept. webmaster............... :} We rise to meet the challenges..........my brother always said telling me something wasn't possible was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.............
I'm trying to remember Sandra Bullock's line from the movie yesterday ............ twisty b......? pretzel ???????????
My satellite connection for the internet is giving me fits. I'm so spoiled with my cable modem connection in town that it is even more frustrating. I just had my computer tech out here (paying on site rates) to figure out what was wrong with the computer and the connection. The newer version of the Starband software was the biggest part of the problem and he got it to work when he reverted back to the older version (2 something). Well, it had the prompt to download the newer version and I pushed the damn button. Several minutes were spent as I could not get XP to boot - I finally did - don't ask me how - but know my Starband "mission control" (why an oxymoron) is out of commission. I will be good and not mess with it any more - since I can't believe I got XP to boot after several failed attempts - and call my computer tech tomorrow and see if he can walk me through it. Otherwise, I will haul it in to him and hopefully he can fix it there. Then to get the actual dish stabilized from the wind gusts (we followed "the directions" when installing it and asked if it should be better stabilized and were told no - I usually overdo things and the one time I didn't...............) anyway....I at least want the software operational so when the satellite is steady I'm good to go. Anyone who has any experience (good or otherwise :} ) with Starband -would be much appreciated if you'd offer any assistance. My brother just put in DirecWay and it seems even more problematic - especially when it has to "reset" itself every hour...........the wonders of technology. At least I have a good old modem to fall back on - but just frustratingly so.
I took a ride on the fourwheeler around the section since the gravel roads are sufficiently mushy from the snow melt - we had our "whitest" Christmas ever and it was great!
I'm interested to see if blogging will help me do more writing - there are so many things that seem to pop to the top of the list that it's hard to find concentrated time - especially with a 12/12 teaching load. As with other universities, ours is moving forward and expects more publishing - but no actual release time for it and of course no graduate assistants to help with grading or even research. But I love the students at our school of just under 7k. My university does "count" my forays into technology and new media and for that I am thankful. Those extra projects help me pay for my computer equipment. If I were totally relying on what the school provides, I would still be relying on a first generation Pentium with 16k of memory............and I'm the dept. webmaster............... :} We rise to meet the challenges..........my brother always said telling me something wasn't possible was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.............
I'm trying to remember Sandra Bullock's line from the movie yesterday ............ twisty b......? pretzel ???????????
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