How Did It Get So Late So Soon?

"How did it get so late, so soon?"

~ Dr. Suess

Alan worked his regular 8 hour shift yesterday, plus 4 hours. He came home, and we had pizza, and watched a documentary on Sarah Palin, that I highly recommend by the way, called, 

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! It's available from Netflix, so if you haven't seen it, and you have Netflix... scoot... skedaddle... go see it! But, be prepared, it's some scary stuff, and is mostly told to film maker, Nick Broomfield, by the folks who actually lived through the experience that is Sarah Palin. It's a cautionary tale of ruthless ambition, fundamental Christianity and destructive politics, each at it's most dangerous. It's probably nothing you haven't heard before about Mrs. Palin, but when the actual words are coming from the mouths of people who have felt the wrath of Palin first hand, it's positively bone-chilling. Particularly when you consider the ridiculous brawl that took place in Alaska last September, and how quiet everything got in the days and weeks afterward.

It was widely published at the time, a man who attended the party, Eric Thompson, which was held at the home of Korey Klingenmeyer, his boss, at McKenna Paving, lost his job almost immediately after he spoke out to ABC News, regarding the Palin's part in the fight. Mckenna Paving, is owned by Matt and Marc McKenna, the men whose birthday's were being celebrated at the party. He was rehired at some point later, perhaps around the time the tapes made by police, the night of the party, were released to the media. Apparently, for sometime following the altercation, Korey Klingenmeyer considered filing assault charges against Bristol Palin, who is said to have punched him in the face several times. But in the end, as always, suddenly everything went silent, and if you watch the movie, you will see why. Sometimes I don't know whether to think of Sarah Palin as one big joke, or evil incarnate. All I know is, as good as the documentary was, I don't recommend watching it on a night when you lose an hour of sleep... you will lose enough sleep as it is!

"Mr. President, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke, is a good guy with a nuke,:

~Sarah Palin

On how President Obama should deal with 

Russian President Vladimir Putin

CPAC speech, March 8th, 2014

Drunk Bristol Palin Sobs To Cops, Mom Sarah Slams 'The Bad Guys'

(Audio Recording)

Tic... Tic... Tic...

Don't forget to set your clocks forward!

Daylight Savings Time 

2:00 AM

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)        

Have A NIce Day!

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention with the possible exceptions of handguns and Tequila."

~Mitch Ratcliffe

 

Have you ever noticed that good news doesn't usually come on Fridays? As a matter of fact, bad news doesn't tend to come on Fridays either, well unless it's political. You see Friday has long been deemed the "news dump"day and politicians love it because they can come out and tell the truth, which is quite often ridiculous or infuriating, and they have two full days, AKA the weekend, to gather their collective wits about them, for the ensuing question barrage questions they know will be coming.

That's the world of Politics.

But yesterday, there was a pretty interesting bit of news that came from the Technology world. Well, it's kinda new, actually the article I read was dated June 5th, which was a Wednesday. I am not sure if Wednesdays hold any special good or bad connotations as far as news goes, but this was good news, and I read about it yesterday, which of course was Friday! LOL. Anyway, it seems there will be a major new update coming for Windows 8, on June 26th, a Wednesday, which when downloaded will make it's current operating system be called Windows 8.1.

Yeah, yeah... we know that. Right? Well yes, Microsoft did say a while back that they had heard our screams of WHY,WHY,WHY,WHY, WHY,WHY? Why oh WHY, did you change the Windows operating system so drastically? Why have you made it impossible and confusing to use? Thank you for making it pretty with the awesome little tiles, and the beautiful colors, but WHY did you take away the Start Screen Button? WHYYYYYYYYY? Just Why!

Okay, if you haven't read the article that came out Wednesday, hold on to your hats, and buttons, because as of June 26th Windows 8.1 will be available for download, with some cool new features that promise to make it much more user friendly, and without mentioning it, there is a strong indication that the beloved Start Button will be back! I know. If they haven't mentioned it, maybe I am in for a let down, but most articles I have perused seem to all agree it will be there... in the lower left corner... right where it belongs.

Frankly, I have come to terms with the Windows 8 system, and made my piece with it. After thinking long and hard about whether I should give up and have Best Buy downgrade my Toshiba laptop back to Windows 7, I chose to soldier on. After all, whether we like it or not, Microsoft has moved on from Windows 7, therefore all future computers, desktop or otherwise, will be sold with Windows 8 already loaded. Besides, while I was super annoyed in the beginning, I have acclimated to the Windows 8 system now, and I am okay with it.

But I have to say, I really love sitting her at my desktop PC, which runs Windows 7, and not have to put as much thought into the tasks I need to perform. My lovely Start Button is right there, in the lower left hand corner, like an old cherished friend. Smiling at me, and telling me in a soft voice... "It's okay... I am here. I understand. I am your friend and I will never leave you." LOL. Well, okay, it doesn't really say that, the most my computer ever says to me is... "You've Got Mail, And We Have Forwarded It On To The NSA."

Have A Nice Day!

Mood: Hopeful

~Me :)

My Journey With Windows 8 Revisited

"Man is a slow, sloppy, and brilliant thinker; computers are fast, accurate, and stupid."

~John Pfeiffer

Lock Screen
 

It's been a two months to the day that I gave my first review of the new Windows 8 operating system. To say that Windows 8 and I got off to a rough start would be an understatement. But now, like I said, it's been a couple months and I have had a chance to work through learning the new program and there are some conclusions I have come to. For one thing, it's never a bad thing to learn something new... even if it challenges you in ways you couldn't imagine. Alan bought me the new Toshiba laptop to make my life a little easier, but from the outset I wondered if maybe I should have gone a different way entirely. After not giving up... and working through the rough patches... and doing a little troubleshooting online... I am glad I stuck with it. Am I a big fan of Windows 8 now? Um... no. But I don't absolutely hate it either.

It's complicated.

Here is the thing. Once I learned how to maneuver through the new Start Screen and folders formats I am cool with the rest of the program... well for the most part. It took me the better part of a couple weeks of trial and error, plus hunting around because of how bad those two parts of Windows 8 that confused me. I HATE the fact that there is no longer a simple Start button, which made life, and Windows much easier to use, and the for the LOVE OF GOD what were they thinking with that silly, area on the right that takes you to that stupid ghostly "WhatchaWannaDo" sidebar that appears with only the slightest of brushing against the right side pane of the display screen? Microsoft... just put the Start button back and banish the idiotic ghostly sidebar menu! Just let users boot straight to the desktop!

Ghostly Sidebar...


Start Screen


Desktop
 

Log Out Screen (Original)
 

Visually speaking, it's a gorgeous program. As a photographer, I enjoy being able to customize my screens to suit me. What I don't appreciate is the fact that when you first start working with Windows 8 you are beat over the head to use a Microsoft account. Take it from me... it's not necessary. My Toshiba laptop came loaded with a lot of apps that I simply didn't need. After I took the time to remove the apps, most of which you had to pay to operate, I customized my Start Screen with the programs and apps I actually use. That rubbed me the wrong way from the start, but in fact computers tend to come full of useless crap, so that's really not a new thing. It's up to each individual to figure out.

I have read there is a possibility that there will be a Windows 8.1 coming in the future, possibly later this summer, that addresses some of the issues I have bitched... ummm... complained about in this post and my previous review. You read about it here. Whether or not there will be a charge for the update is any one's guess. Hopefully Microsoft will realize their folly and be decent about the situation and just fix the stupidity. Either way, I have learned my way through the darkness that is Windows 8 and I am satisfied for the moment. I have learned about sites where you can download a program that puts a Windows Start button into the program for you, but it's just not the same. A nice try though. Somehow it would always bother me that it wasn't a real Start button. LOL. Yes, I obsess over stupid stuff like that.

Ugggg! And Mumpfh!

Simply said... Microsoft Windows 8 isn't as bad as all that once you get used to it, but it does take a little feeling around in the dark though. Of course there are books you can by through Amazon.com to help you figure it out, but personally, they aren't for me. I prefer to figure it out for myself, and once learned, never forgotten. But that's just me. Hey if nothing else, at least it's not Vista. Right?

As for my new Toshiba Laptop C855D-S5106... I couldn't be happier with it! As laptops go it's pretty darn nifty. It's fast. Quiet. Has a great display. It's perfect for all the basics. Browsing. Photo Editing. It has a decent sound quality and the battery life is great! It's lightweight and easy to carry.  The DVD drive seems a bit flimsy, so I am extra careful with it, but that's the only negative that I have come across. I paid $279.00 on sale at Best Buy. For the price I am impressed! It's perfect for someone who needs a computer on the go, or to simply play a movie on (with headphones) when the neighbor's damn dog won't stop barking! LOL. I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

Mood: Tired

~Me :)