My mouse is now working. I did a Google search for it and got a link to the Microsoft site for their mice. I found a link to download the software, so I did. I installed it and restarted my computer. At first, the mouse wouldn’t work. So I tried it in 2 of the other USB ports. It worked on one in the front, but not the other (curious). Then I tried it in back again, and it worked. Woohoo!! I now have a brand new optical wheel mouse. Yeah … it’s not a fancy one, but it’s an upgrade from my old one … which is as old as my computer (almost 6 years).

Now I’m off to Google some more. I’m gonna see if I can find any performance tweaks I can try on my system. I know there’s something about a Firefox memory leak, or something like that. I’m gonna see if I can find that and anything else I can find. Since it’ll be a few months yet before I’ve got the money for a laptop, I’ve gotta make this old desktop work a little longer. Hopefully I don’t work it to death … LOL.

Mood: okay   CSI

Well … I got my memory today. And I was actually home when they delivered it. I really figured I’d have to head up north to pick it up. But the Big Brown Truck showed up about 5 minutes after I got home from work.

I put the memory in a little bit ago and started it up. There was a little burp where I couldn’t get my mouse to work. You see … I got an optical one from work. It doesn’t appear to work. I’ll have to see if they have any software for it. It’s an optical mouse. I’ll have to check tomorrow.

After I got the mouse working, I fired up the computer. I was REALLY hoping to see a noticeable difference in performance. After all … I did double my memory. But maybe the issue isn’t the memory. Maybe it’s just the fact that the system is almost 6 years old. LOL I guess I’ll just have to use it a while and see if the problems I was having before are still there or not. Maybe I just expected too much from the start. I just need to use it a while and see how it goes.

Mood: disappointed   Ugly Betty

I FINALLY bought some memory for my computer. Right now, my system only as 448MB. I know … I know … what the hell was I thinking taking so long to upgrade. It’s called “lack of moola” … LOL.

I decided to use part of my Christmas bonus to upgrade to more memory. I bought a 512 MB stick of Kingston ValueRAM from NewEgg. This will double the amount of memory I have installed … bringing it up to 896MB (if my calculations are correct … after replacing the 64MB stick with this new one). I was able to get it for just under $66, including shipping. They say it’ll take 1 to 2 business days to process my order. And then the shipping is guaranteed within 3 days. Things will be delayed some with the New Year’s holiday, but still … I should *HOPEFULLY* have my new memory by next week Thursday or Friday. Hopefully it’ll get here sooner rather than later … LOL. I just hope I don’t smash my system before then.

And this will still leave me with money left over from my Christmas bonus. I really want to get an mp3 player. I’ll be researching to find a good one for around $60. I don’t need a spendy iPod. Just something I can put my music on and listen to at work. And if I find one I like that is a little more expensive, I’ll just wait ’til my next paycheck … I don’t have to make a full car payment (it’ll be my last one and will be around $200 or so). I just have to be patient … if that’s possible …

Mood: okay   CSI

I’ve been meaning to post about my newest toy since I got it, but I’ve been being lazy. I was taking a bit of a break from the computer this weekend. I was on it a little bit while playing with my phone, but that’s about it. But, I’m back now.

I was going to get a MicroSD card and reader to use with my phone, but now I’m not sure I’m going to. The main reason I wanted to get it was so I could get my own wallpapers and ringtones on the phone. But I can do that without the card. Since my new phone is a camera phone, I can get both text and picture messages. So … I’ve been using Verizon’s PIX Place to send myself pictures for wallpapers and MyxerTones to send myself ringtones. I really like MyxerTones … I can upload songs that I already have on my computer and create ringtones from them. All for FREE!!! I said I was a cheapskate …

Right now I’ve got a Dale Jr pic as the main wallpaper and a picture of my Dale Jr flag as wallpaper on the front. I can handle opening up my phone and looking at a hot guy.

I only really have one gripe about the phone. The front display isn’t on all the time. It’s only on for up to 30 seconds max after the phone has been shut. That means I actually have to open up the phone (or push one of the buttons on the side) to see what time it is or to see if anyone sent me any text messages or called while I was at work. When I go out to the bar, I use my phone as a clock since I don’t wear a watch any more. Now I won’t just be able to look at it to see what time it is. That’s gonna suck.

But overall, I really like the phone. I might eventually get a MicroSD card and reader or a USB cable so I can put music on my phone. But for right now, I’m not going to do that. I got a phone to be a phone … not an mp3 player.

Mood: blah   CSI: Miami

As I mentioned the other day, it’s time for me to upgrade my cellphone. I wasn’t really sure which one I wanted. I looked at what Verizon was offering and picked out a few that I wanted to check out. I looked up reviews online and browsed the HowardForums. I kinda narrowed things down to the Samsung a870 and the LG VX8300.

I dared to venture to the mall this morning (just before noon) to go check out the phones in person at the Verizon store. I checked out a bunch that were on my list, not just the 2 I listed above. After playing with the phones, I was definitely leaning towards the VX8300. I did some more searching online tonite at reviews and in the forums for more info on questions I had. I FINALLY decided that the VX8300 WAS the way to go for me. I placed my order for the LG VX8300 at 10:24pm tonite. Yeah … I didn’t jump the gun on this one. At least I hope I didn’t … LOL.

The only remaining sticking point was if I was going to order the microSD card right away or not. I think that will be the best way for me to get ringers and wallpapers on the phone (since I’m too cheap to buy any). I found the same reader they have on Verizon for $19.99 on the Best Buy website for $13.49. They don’t have the same 256 microSD card online at Best Buy that they do on the Verizon site, but they do have a 512MB card for only about $10 more than the 256MB at Verizon (actually, I don’t think it’s even that much more). I just checked the Best Buy site and if I buy both the reader and the 512MB card, it will cost me $47.68 total (including tax). And according to the site, both items are in stock at the store. So I could just go there and pick them up. Not bad … a brand new $149.99 phone + $19.99 card reader + $39.99 512MB card for just under $50. Even a cheapskate like me can handle that … LOL.

Now I just hope I get the darn thing BEFORE Thanksgiving. Verizon said it takes 2 to 5 business days for delivery (normally). 2 days would be Tuesday. With Thanksgiving in the mix … 5 days would be a week from Monday (Nov 27) IF they consider the day after Thanksgiving a business day. My luck it would show up on Friday. I won’t be here. I’ll be at Mom and Dad’s. So I wouldn’t get it ’til the following Monday anyways. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll be here by Wednesday at the latest …

And maybe … just maybe … I’ll get lucky and they’ll have either the card or the reader on sale next week. I doubt it, but I can hope.

Mood: chipper   CSI: Miami

I was hoping someone out there who reads this (I think there are 1 or 2 of you … LOL) might have a cell phone thru Verizon. As of today, I’m eligible to upgrade to a new phone, up to a $100 value, for free or $100 of a more expensive phone thanks to their ‘New Every Two’ plan. I just briefly looked at the phones they’ve got online. I’m not sure what I should go with. The one I have now is an LGVX4500. It’s worked for me for the past almost 2 years. A little limited on the backgrounds and ring tones, and I’m too cheap to buy any. I did buy 2 ring tones though. And I supposed I’ll lose those when I get a new phone … damn. Didn’t think of that ’til now.

Anyways … I was hoping someone out there might be able to give me a review on the kind of phone they have. According to the website, if I get it online, I can get a Razor for free. There are a bunch of others that would be free too. I’m not good with choices … LOL. But honestly, I don’t know what kind of phone is a good phone. I’ll probably go look at what they have in the store at the mall. That way I can play with ‘em before I decide.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Mood: blah   Jericho

In my search for a new job, I have discovered that most web developer positions have requirements for knowing C#. I have never done anything with C# … up ’til now, that is.

I had received a copy of Visual C# .net after attending a seminar (on Microsoft SQL Server 2005) last year through work. It’s been sitting along the side of my computer desk collecting dust … until now. I installed it this morning. Took forever. It’s still downloading the service pack. It came with a book … Getting Started with Microsoft Visual C# .NET. My plan is to start going through that book this afternoon to learn some of the basics. Then I’ll look for online tutorials and just play around with things until I get the hang of it.

Of course, this won’t mean that I can apply for a job looking strictly for C# skills. But I can add it to my resume, and maybe it will give me an edge. That’s what I’m hoping. I’ll post updates on my progress. And who knows … maybe I’ll end up creating something cool.

Mood: working   Y&R

If you know of anyone who is looking to hire a web developer/programmer, can you let me know.

I just (about 30-45 min ago) became unemployed. It’s not because of my performance. In fact … I just had a very favorable review last week. It is because of the situation of the company. They just found out (this morning in fact) that their biggest client (the one who’s projects I worked on) is pulling the plug. Because of that, they let at least 3 of us go … not sure about one other person. The remaining people will be there at least through the end of next week. After that, the outlook is uncertain. If things change, they said they would ask us back before hiring anyone else. No one is happy about the situation.

So … that being said … I’m lookin’ for a job. I already stopped at Job Service on my way home to see what I needed to apply for unemployment. I can apply online, so I’ll be doing that tonite or in the morning, depending on my mood. I grabbed a JobDig from there and got a Forum at CashWise. Time to update my resume and start scouring again. I’m NOT looking forward to this. But then again, who enjoys being unemployed?

OMG!! I shouldn’t even be up right now. It’s after 11:30pm. But I’ve been pissed about my website ever since Saturday morning. My host had some sort of issue. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to get to my OWN websites from home. Talk about a not happy Becky …

I was laying in bed tonite and just couldn’t get to sleep. First I got up to check out easyPHP. I’d like to be able to test stuff without uploading to my web host. I think I’m gonna try to install that either tomorrow nite or this weekend and see if I can get things to work.

Then … I had a revelation … At work, when we were testing the new server for one of our clients, we modified the hosts files on our computers so we could get to the new server. I thought … I wonder if that will help me out with my issues with my sites. So … here I am … out of bed and at the computer at 11:41pm. I found my hosts file and added in the IP for my website and WHAMO … I can actually get my websites now. Woohoo!!! That still doesn’t fix the issue. I’m STILL not happy with my web host.

I mean … I asked them to move me to a different server (to try to fix the problem) at 6:41pm on June 13th. Well … it’s 11:43pm on June 15th and I have yet to get a response. I sent a new support ticket telling them not to move my account. I have other plans …

Now that I can get to my sites again, I’m heading to bed. Maybe I’ll get a good nite’s sleep. I’m just so happy to have my websites back. And I can get my email too.

And who’da thunk it … all I would have had to do this entire time was modify my hosts file. But that still doesn’t fix the underlying issues. I’m just happy I can blog again.

I am so confused right now. Yesterday, my internet took a crap on me … right about the time that the Daytona 500 started. I figured it was the cable company’s issue. I called them, but I was on hold for around 10 minutes and then gave up and watched the race. Then I called back last nite and actually got a tech. He helped me troubleshoot, and it turned out that it was an issue with the cable splitter. I’ve only got one outlet in the living room, so it’s set up with a splitter … one cable to the tv and the other to the cable modem. When I unhooked it from the splitter and hooked it straight into the wall, then my internet was fine. But when I went through the splitter, internet no work-y.

I was going to go get another splitter today at lunch, but it turned out that the cable company was closed today due to the President’s Day holiday. WFT?!?

Tonite, I figured I’d hook it up through the splitter just to see if it worked (otherwise I can’t be online and watch tv at the same time). And lo-and-behold … the damn thing worked. I’m not gonna complain. But if it breaks again, at least I’ll know why. THEN I can go and get a new splitter.

Mood: confused