A good time for an LJ update - the draft I began on Saturday and never posted

The computer saga continues...

I finally got to the point wher I could start the install yesterday. I tested the media, agonised over partition sizes and what packages to install. And then it fell over and told me that one of the packages I wanted was corrupt and wouldn't install. I gave up in disgust.

This morning, I burnt another image and I'm testing the media and making .....Bugger, the media failed. Try again!

This process is going much slower than I'd hoped and I feel bad. The Stormhold website has to get out to the world, and it's all waiting on this computer. I wouldn't mind as much if it was just my stuff - it's just a hobby and can go at hobby pace. Of course, it's all made worse because I didn't have a backup process and all the stuff people have put on the stormhold website since it went up is now gone. Luckily the disaster happened after Winterfeast.

Getting the website/webserver together has been made worse because I spent all week being so tired I couldn't function. I didn't realise I was that tired until Friday morning, when I realised I was AWAKE! and promtply got all the work I'd failed to get done during the week, done in a few hours. At least I got a week's work done this week. No wonder I also failed to organise the house renovation stuff I was going to do.

House renovation stuff has managed to move along a bit this week though, mostly because I nagged mr_bassman to organise a skip to be put into our backyard. We spent yesterday emptying our backyard, undercover shed space and the back verandah. I thought it a little strange, but acknowledge the improvement nonetheless -

We now have ONLY THIRTEEN computers that don't work and are waiting for a goal in life/to be "fixed up"/"used"!!!!!!!!!

Bugger... now Nero has frozen and it looks like a computer restart is in order...

Amusingly, I think we got rid of more op-shop and technology recycling stuff than we did actually filling the skip - we may have to start the kitchen demolition process early in order to use it's full capacity.

I'm getting a bit concerned about my renovation plan, another reason I probably didn't get it started this week. I'm worried about surviving without a kitchen or laundry for at least 3 weeks and maybe 5 weeks. I think I need to firm up some alternative arrangements before I commit myself. Alternatively, I may pull back the plans for the kitchen and "just"

remove the masonite on the wall with the big window
replace the big window with one that doesn't have leaky louvres
pull up the old lino
get a plumber to install a new sink and (new?) dishwasher under the window
get cabinets made to put the sink into, the cabinets should also go around the corner, under the microwave.


We should get all of the work in the laundry done. I'll try and organise stuff on Monday and Tuesday (RDO!) this week.

Baby stuff is starting to get into my brain too. I'm mentally making lists of things I/the baby wants and how I can get it. I really want to go shopping, but I don't yet have anywhere to put it, so I'm waiting. Aha! sjkasabi I remember now, I have a legitimate IKEA excuse, I need more/alternative furniture so I can make space in my bedroom for a cot/bassinette and baby stuff.

RDO stuff

Today's achievement: Persuading no.3 son that his attitude to blood tests was something he could use his brain to control, not his adrenalin rush. It required the application of time (we went to the pathologist twice) and a hefty bribe - when he has his next blood test in 6 weeks time I will buy him $140 worth of hard drive for his computer. He's going to spend some of his own money and get a 200G drive.

Z has heard a lot about blood tests from his father, who has a mild phobia about it and was VERY upset at the idea of someone taking blood out of him (he says he's fine with people putting stuff in). When we first went in, he sat down and chatted calmly with the pathologist, but when the needle was about to go in he freaked and insisted we leave. We stayed for about 30min, trying to persuade him and talking about the great vein he had, and how little time it would take. Finally we just had to leave.

Then I suggested the hard drive. He checked it out online, and thought about it, and agreed quite quickly. We printed out the specs and took them with us so he could look at them while the needle was going in. Ultimately, he watched the whole procedure and was much happier that the next pathologist seemed just as nervous about taking blood out of him as he was of having it taken out. He's been high as a kite all evening and much chirpier than usual. Probably worth most of a hard drive all by itself.

I'm not normally into bribery for children, but, I realised, I'm willing to pay a lot of money for him to have an education and music lessons etc. Being able to walk into a pathologists and have a blood test, without a drama is a valuable life skill - that I'm happy to pay for too. Z's uncle died of bowel cancer after ignoring and procrastinating about blood tests and doctor's visits for his ulcerative colitis. I'm glad to have an opportunity to do something about Z's attitude, while he's young enough to sit on my knee, and cry if he needs to.

Latest computer update - This process has been cursed with hardware fuckups and now I think it's the video card too. I replaced the cd drive on Sunday - it was giving me too many errors in the install process, but I now have linux installed on the machine. I just can't see it. As soon as I get out of X-window (I think it's called) the screen gets 2 or 3 vertical strips of multicoloured horizontal lines. I know linux is in there - but I can't see it and I can't adjust the display settings and I can't get a text console and ... IT JUST DOESN"T WORK!!!!!!!

If it weren't for my natural persistance, just plodding along, a bit each night, I'd have given up by now. Tomorrow, I get mr_bassman to play with the hardware and tell me it's all working.