How Spaghetti Killed my Hard Drive

Photo swipped from http://dinnerdiary.org

The summer of 2004 was an especially trying time for me. My little blind kitty-cat escaped from the house, never to be found again. I was robbed while working at the front desk of a seedy hotel, and I moved out of the house I had been sharing with my friends and into a tiny room, at the afore mentioned seedy hotel in which I worked. Yet the worst was still to come.

After a few weeks, I found myself an apartment and promptly moved in. The first thing that I set up was my beloved computer, and then arranged my furniture around it. The second week in my new apartment, I was cooking spaghetti one night when all of the power on one side of the room suddenly went out. It only took a moment for me to put two and two together and realize that the wall that hosted the outlet for the stove was the same wall that my T.V. and computer’s outlets were plugged into. I went down the line, one by one checking each outlet for some sign of life. Nothing. Everything was dead. I found the fuse box and flipped the switches, headed back to the afflicted wall, and began at the computer, my prized possession, my link to the outside world. Power! I had power, but I had the ominous blank screen with a white cursor. A sinking feeling swooped over me and I felt as though I may faint. I took some deep breaths and steadied my nerves and then tried to enter the set up mode, pressing F9 repeatedly as I rebooted, saying silent prayers to Bill Gates as the power light illuminated on the tower. Nada. Blank screen, this time followed by the dreaded words “Operating System not found”. I tore through boxes, yet unpacked, and retrieved my Windows XP recovery CDs. Hands shaking, knees trembling, and with tears welling up in my eyes, I gently placed the first of the 8 disc series into the tray, to no avail. My computer was dead. I knew I no longer had technical support, it had long since expired. Even if it hadn’t, there’s little that can be done over the phone, when a power surge has zapped your hard drive.

They say when you are dying, your life flashes before your eyes. At this moment, my life with my computer flashed before mine. I suddenly recalled how I received it as a Christmas present, my all time favorite. I recalled how, upon moving back to Tennessee from California, I packed up my computer first, to ensure that I had it securely in place, even before packing photo albums, clothes, and other personal belongings. I remembered installing my DVD burner, the Bluetooth, and the extra USB port. I realized that the power strip that I had purchased at the flea market for $2.00 was not such a bargain as it had seemed at the moment of purchase.

The next day I took my computer to a friend who owns a computer repair shop. We decided my hard drive could not be saved and that I needed a new one. Luckily, I was able to install a new hard drive myself, and luckily for me nothing else, other than a very old television and an electric GE stove, was destroyed by the power surge. You see where my priorities sit. Replacement and or/repair sequence was as follows,

1. Computer (first and foremost)

2. Stove (gotta cook, gotta eat)

3. T.V. (a few weeks later)

The valuable lessons that I learned that dreadful evening were these:

A. Power strips are not an area in which you want to cut corners and

B. Always, always, always backup you data.

I quickly learned about online data storage, which not only frees up your hard drive, but is safe from power failures, power surges, and equipment failures. It makes data accessible from any pc, anywhere. And, it saves me from the nightmare of lost music, documents, and photos in the future.

And that, my friends, is how spaghetti once killed my hard drive. And who knew I would see the light, so to speak, and meet Wifester so soon after... The times, they do change. That is one thing we can rely upon.

Caspurr, where ever you are, whatever happened to you...I searched, high and low, day and night, knocking on doors that should never be knocked on, posting fliers and begging for any signs of a sighting of you...I still love you and I still miss you!

Birds of a Feather?

I've made a few observations lately, in regards to couples and their respective careers, and how strangely, some careers seem to mesh with others. For example, I am studying IT and am a Computer Science Major. Wifester is a nurse. We have a friend who also is in the IT industry, who was coupled for many years with a person in the health care industry. We've met many new friends via my Green La Vergne group, of which, one is a nurse, who is married to a software engineer, hello there MagsMom! I don't know if that's because us technically inclined people tend to seek out people who can assist us when we electrocute ourselves while dismantling our devices, to see how they work, or if the nurses and health care givers seek us because we seem to need some nurturing, or what the case may be. But, now I want to do some research. I'm sure there's some kind of studies that have been conducted on the percentages of marriages or partnerships between certain career types. That's just the type of thing our government loves to throw money away on in abundance. I'll get on that.
Then there's a friend of Wifester's who has a niece who is apparently, just like Wifester, and is married to a woman who is apparently, just like me.
Now, I've also found, in the course of my current line of work, that there is also an oddly disproportionate amount of accountants in this world, or at least this country, whose names happen to be either George or Peter. I don't know what that's all about. It is entirely possible that those are simply common names, but, so is John, or Jim, or Tom, and why is it that the accountants, not the receptionists, not the loan officers, not the insurance reps, share common names, only the accountants. I play a little game with myself whenever I have to call an accountant. I make a bet with myself as to whether or not this one will be George, Peter, or some random other name. George and Peter usually win.
So far, I owe me a fortune; If I ever pay up, I can retire, in style!

WWC Temporary and Permanent ....

I've been AWOL from the WWC for a few weeks, and I've really been missing it. Wifester and I still have the power struggle over custody of the camera. The few times I was able to snatch it from her ever strengthening grip, I was able to come up with this interpretation for this week's WWC, which is brought to us by none other than the fairy dust yielding, Tink, of Pickled Beef. She challenged us to interpret Temporary and Permanent, here's mine:

Temporary Blooms, permenant plants


King Neptune, a Permanent reminder of Roman mythology

It didn't photograph well, but here's my permanent tribute to the place Wifester and I got married, which is permanent as well!

And that's, that's, that's all folks! Be sure to check out the Flickr group for more photos!

Freaky Coincidence?

OK, I'm a bit freaked out by this one. I could just be paranoid, but, hear me out. You've probably read about the guy who went bezerk and shot some folks in the Unitarian Universalist Church, on Sunday, right? Well, here's the story, in case you've missed out on this one. And here, and here, and here.
Very sad. Very. Here's what freaks me out.
On Saturday, someone in Jamestown, which is about 100 miles from Knoxville ( not far) accessed my blog by googling "most liberal town in tennessee". This google search landed them on this post.

This shooting happened "just outside of Knoxville", on Sunday. And, they say, he targeted the church because he had a hatred for liberals, for the liberal agenda, and for gays. All of which that church supports.

A little too close for my comfort, I want to know if this guy drove from Jamestown to Knoxville to do this??
Spoooky, eh?

Green La Vergne Needs You!

We Need You!
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I've never done this before, and typically, I'm against this sort of thing on a personal blog, but this is for a good cause, and not for me or my family...so here goes:

I'm talking to my fellow La Vergneians... Or anyone who wants to see the space between Smyrna and Antioch become greener, cleaner, and more, well, livable. Green La Vergne Needs Your Help. We need a $1, $5, or $10 donation to assist with the cost of supplies, advertising, you know, the stuff. All proceeds go directly to Green La Vergne, to help make our city Greener, Cleaner, and a better place to live. Right now, we need to make a butt load of fliers to hand out at Oldtimer's Day...that costs moola...those of us who are committed to this project can do what we can, but help would be greatly appreciated. So if you can find it in your hearts, and your wallets, to help Green La Vergne become the community based group that we are striving to be, please, give a buck or two...or five, it's a good cause, after all. You'll notice I've added the pay pal button to my page, over to the right, on the sidebar, under the subscribe to Green La Vergne Button, I've also added both in this post, to make it easy to find. Any donation is appreciated, any physical help, in the form of time committed to assisting is greatly appreciated as well!

Me and My Veggies

I've almost always loved my veggies. I mean, sure, when I was a young one, I put up a fuss over certain ones, like those evil green pebbles that call themselves peas. But broccoli, and cauliflower, okra, and brussel sprouts, collard greens, squash... zucchini? All good in my book. In my late twenties I developed a love affair with eggplant. I had to get grown and move from my parents to even experience such a fabulous vegetable, but once I did, I knew what it meant to live off the land, for I could surely sustain my every cell's nutritional requirement with eggplant. I even spent a few years avoiding anything that once had a face and blood all together. Opting for plants only. I felt much healthier then. Aside from all the chemicals that I was pumping into my body at a feverish pace, as though I was in a race to some junkie-only finish line, and only Keith Richards could lap me to take the lead. But I digress...
One of my other all time favorite sustainable, succulent sustenances are brussel sprouts. I love them. They may reek to high heaven when you're cooking them, but it's an aroma that makes my mouth water and gets me all a tither. Until, that is, a few months ago...when I got soooooo sick. Then just after I got over it, like a week later, it all happened again, in exactly the same way. symptoms and all, identical. The only thing I could attribute it to was the meal I had eaten the night of becoming so viloently ill each time. I had brussel sprouts. From the same store, from the same batch. They were frozen, steam in the pouch brussel sprouts, and honestly, I believe that they were tainted. Oh, they tasted fine, and if they smelled bad, well, how the hell would anyone have known? But a short time after eating...I was violently ill. We'll leave it at that. I didn't even relate it to the seemingly innocuous morsel nestled upon my plate, or else I'd have never seen fit to eat them again, as my symptoms subsided and I was able to move from clear liquids and on to solid foods again. I just thought vegetables always give me stregnth, I'll make some brussel sprouts! Bad, bad, bad idea.
So needles to say, I've been less than gung ho over the sight of those tiny cabbages ever since then. Wifester and I were at the store last weekend, and I saw the lovely brussel sprouts, bobbing their heads from behind the mist and beckoning me ..." come back into the light...just a try, this time will be different, we promise", And I, with all the strength I could muster, turned and walked away from them. Tempting as they may be, so was cocaine and every other chemical substance that I could snort and smoke and....well, let's just say I've learned that when something is no good for you, you just gotta leave it alone.
Likewise, my love of okra has been, er-um, squashed, due to the unfortunate "Memorial Day Experience", which is always said, now, with the quotation marks gesture, just for added emphasis. I went how many weeks without tomatoes because of the salmonella scare, only to find out they were safe all along! Meanwhile, I was chopping up jalapeños, who were responsible, left and right! I don't know how much more of this I can take. Please, stop ruining my veggies! I love my veggies. I don't want them taken away from me. When, where, for the love of all that's green and organic will this crazy madness end?

Yapping, Bitching, and ...Hot Meat?

A few things that I just don't get.

1. I have a coworker who talks incessantly on her cell phone, taking personal calls during the day. My boss has had numerous meetings with our team, in which she has said to us "The next time I catch anyone using their cell phones for personal use, you're fired! Consider this your warning"
The next day, she'll be sitting at her desk, yapping away about "Oh no she didn't! Well, I said.." ..."and then he said..."
Yeah, it's like a 14 year old girl is sitting across from me.
I have a few issues with this situation.
A. It's totally disrespectful to your employer, especially after they have provided you with warnings.
B. It's extremely disrespectful to coworkers around you to be subject to listen to your conversations while they are on their phones actually conducting business.
C. Even more rude, it becomes, when those conversations last so long that fellow employees , namely ME, are being delegated this employee's share of work, because she is behind.
Now, I'm not normally one to be quite so vocal, but this has gone to a level of absolute absurdity. The other day the phone call was over an hour and a half long. AN HOUR and a HALF.
I don't get how someone would think that it is OK to behave in this manner at WORK, that is, unless you were the owner of your company.

Next on my rant-agenda

2. Dyke-Drama. I just don't get it. Oh, I've seen it, I've participated in enough of my own, in my day, and quite honestly, I'm quite penitent about all of that.
But I believe that a big portion of it stemmed from my having been a drug addicted, wasted youth. Immature, irrational, and high. The dyke-drama that I continue to see flare up from time to time today (not in my own life or relationship, but in the circumference, with friends, acquaintances, is usually of little or no consequence and has no real bearing on anyone's quality of life, mental, physical, or financial stability. So what gives? What's the point? I suppose some people simply enjoy stirring the pot every chance they can get. Not me. I like to let things simmer down and keep it at a nice mild temperature. Always trying to keep it smooth and moderate. Amicable for all. I'm a diplomat like that.

And finally...

3. Why am I just now finding out that the cooking guide on my George Foreman grill has me WAAAAAAAY overcooking my food? Wifester and I finally bought a meat thermometer, and the heavens parted and I do believe I heard trumpets.
Prior to meeting her, I'd been on a tofu kick for a while, and when not eating tofu, my chicken was boiled to the point of falling apart in shreds (see enchilada recipe) Otherwise, it was veggies, veggies, and carry-out. Oh, don't give me that...it's hard to cook for just one. Anyways, new meat thermometer, since Wifester is a Grill-Master and every grill Master needs a meat thermometer, we found her one. Since it resides in my kitchen, I incorporated the use of it on all my meats, and wow! No more crispy dried out chicken breasts on Mr. Foreman's Grill! Someone should really tell him to adjust his guide! We made salmon on it prior to the thermometer, and went by the guide, it was so chewy and tough. So this time, I used the thermometer ....mmmmmmm! Flakey juicy perfectly grilled salmon. Now if I could just get the Wifester to actually grill the salmon on her grill-de-la grill...But that's a whole other gripe for a whole other day.