Friday, September 21, 2007
Ah Windows
I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have to try to beat Windows around to make it do what you want. I gave up last night trying to get SPSS to work with Vista. I attacked the problem anew this morning and found a patch I needed to install from the SPSS website to make it actually work. Now I can anal-ize my data.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
'bout time
A week after ordering a copy of SPSS to be shipped UPS next day air, it should be here today.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Work
I bought a new Mac a few weeks ago. I was hoping to take advantage of the fact that the new Macs can run Windows. I was hoping to purchase SPSS with my graduate research money like several people had done before.
I bought Vista and got it running on my Mac easy as cake with Boot Camp. But then I realized OSX can't write to NTFS and Vista doesn't even see the Mac partitions. Well, if I were going to transfer information between Vista and OSX I would need to do something. I could use my thumb drive, but that didn't seem very elegant. I ended up finding some nice instructions in a wiki for making a third partition. Now I have both OS's running with a nice boot screen provided by rEFIt, and a 1Gb shared partition so I can transfer files between the OS's.
In the mean time, the school decided it won't let us buy software for our home computers anymore even if it is for school work. So I had to order SPSS from JourneyEd. I ordered it Next Day Air on Thursday. It didn't arrive Friday: grrrrrr. If it doesn't get here Monday I'm going to rip someone's nuts off.
Well, time to go put all my songs back on my new iPod since I used it as my backup for OSX.
I bought Vista and got it running on my Mac easy as cake with Boot Camp. But then I realized OSX can't write to NTFS and Vista doesn't even see the Mac partitions. Well, if I were going to transfer information between Vista and OSX I would need to do something. I could use my thumb drive, but that didn't seem very elegant. I ended up finding some nice instructions in a wiki for making a third partition. Now I have both OS's running with a nice boot screen provided by rEFIt, and a 1Gb shared partition so I can transfer files between the OS's.
In the mean time, the school decided it won't let us buy software for our home computers anymore even if it is for school work. So I had to order SPSS from JourneyEd. I ordered it Next Day Air on Thursday. It didn't arrive Friday: grrrrrr. If it doesn't get here Monday I'm going to rip someone's nuts off.
Well, time to go put all my songs back on my new iPod since I used it as my backup for OSX.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Oh, Freaking Great!
What a day this is turning out to be. Only 1 of 5 people showed up for my study.
Then, some software I wanted to buy with my discretionay funds, that has been purchased for other people, is now being denied. I'm really thrilled I purchased Vista and installed it on my Mac so that I could run this software. ^&&%$%$#%^&@$^@%@#$%@#!!!!
Then, some software I wanted to buy with my discretionay funds, that has been purchased for other people, is now being denied. I'm really thrilled I purchased Vista and installed it on my Mac so that I could run this software. ^&&%$%$#%^&@$^@%@#$%@#!!!!
Stupid Broke Car
So now I have no working vehicles. The truck has been broke and I don't even have all of the parts to fix it yet. Then, on my way to school this morning I went to shift (I wasn't even being a jerk) and I heard a faint clink around the shifter and then nothing. By "nothing" I mean it didn't shift and the shifter was worthless ... again. I'm going to have to rip into that thing tonight when I get home.
Luckily, Palila isn't working so much these days, so I could borrow (aka. take) her car and leave her stuck at home. I'm half tempted to cancle my study sign ups and not go to my afternoon class so that I can go see what's wrong with it. I hope I can fix it. I need a full time mechanic to work on my junk that isn't me.
Luckily, Palila isn't working so much these days, so I could borrow (aka. take) her car and leave her stuck at home. I'm half tempted to cancle my study sign ups and not go to my afternoon class so that I can go see what's wrong with it. I hope I can fix it. I need a full time mechanic to work on my junk that isn't me.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Long weekend, that's for sure.
What a weekend.
So, on Friday (I don't usually work on Friday) I had to work. I had to go to school to announce a study early in the morning because our ever famous and bad ATL traffic had prevented me from getting there on Wednesday in time. Then, I decided to e-mail a company I've been talking to about running a study. They decided my questions were too much like their questions, so there would be no point. I know there is a point and I believe I could argue my case, but this seems pointless now. Once a company has made up its mind I think it is over. This somehow reminds me of dating. Of course, I can take this knowledge and move onto the next company. There's plenty of fish in the sea.
Then I decided to work on the truck. I'd done some major damage to the truck and it was time to start installing some of the parts that have been slowly trickling in. Well, one of the parts was a set of brand new motor mounts. It took a lot of work to install them since I'd never done it before and wasn't 100% sure about how to do it. I learned. Once everything was in place, one of the mount's studs broke off. Brand freaking new and it broke. I slammed my hand into the frame when it broke, resulting in a cut and nice sore spot just below my palm.
Then I decided to take the car out for something. It must have been a test drive after I changed the oil. But that doesn't seem right. Either way, I don't remember. Oh, wait.... it was when I went to AutoZone to order a new motor mount for the truck. Anywho, on the way back there was a motor cycle at a light next to me: a crotch rocket. He was revving and revving and revving. Well, the light turned green and I nailed it. He was super late. Now, his crotch rocket probably has the EXACT SAME horse power as my '86 Dodge, but he was REAL late. I was up to 70mph and starting to slow down for the turn into my neighborhood before he passed me. Of course, a clip came off the linkage to the transmission and I got to try to get the car up the drive way in 4th gear. The clutch smell was pretty bad. I had a spare clip (Thank God). The clips are really hard to get in all the way. I'm guessing the people that did it last time when I actually broke the shifter didn't get it all the way on. Oh well.
Then, Alex and I decided to see what was under the cheap ass flooring that was pealing up in the entry way to our house. Alex thought it was hardwood. She was right. Unfortunately, there were two layers of linoleum. I cut away the first to get a peak at the second. Then when I went to cut away the second I spun around and stabbed Alex in the knee with the utility knife.
What a weekend.
So, on Friday (I don't usually work on Friday) I had to work. I had to go to school to announce a study early in the morning because our ever famous and bad ATL traffic had prevented me from getting there on Wednesday in time. Then, I decided to e-mail a company I've been talking to about running a study. They decided my questions were too much like their questions, so there would be no point. I know there is a point and I believe I could argue my case, but this seems pointless now. Once a company has made up its mind I think it is over. This somehow reminds me of dating. Of course, I can take this knowledge and move onto the next company. There's plenty of fish in the sea.
Then I decided to work on the truck. I'd done some major damage to the truck and it was time to start installing some of the parts that have been slowly trickling in. Well, one of the parts was a set of brand new motor mounts. It took a lot of work to install them since I'd never done it before and wasn't 100% sure about how to do it. I learned. Once everything was in place, one of the mount's studs broke off. Brand freaking new and it broke. I slammed my hand into the frame when it broke, resulting in a cut and nice sore spot just below my palm.
Then I decided to take the car out for something. It must have been a test drive after I changed the oil. But that doesn't seem right. Either way, I don't remember. Oh, wait.... it was when I went to AutoZone to order a new motor mount for the truck. Anywho, on the way back there was a motor cycle at a light next to me: a crotch rocket. He was revving and revving and revving. Well, the light turned green and I nailed it. He was super late. Now, his crotch rocket probably has the EXACT SAME horse power as my '86 Dodge, but he was REAL late. I was up to 70mph and starting to slow down for the turn into my neighborhood before he passed me. Of course, a clip came off the linkage to the transmission and I got to try to get the car up the drive way in 4th gear. The clutch smell was pretty bad. I had a spare clip (Thank God). The clips are really hard to get in all the way. I'm guessing the people that did it last time when I actually broke the shifter didn't get it all the way on. Oh well.
Then, Alex and I decided to see what was under the cheap ass flooring that was pealing up in the entry way to our house. Alex thought it was hardwood. She was right. Unfortunately, there were two layers of linoleum. I cut away the first to get a peak at the second. Then when I went to cut away the second I spun around and stabbed Alex in the knee with the utility knife.
What a weekend.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Oh, freaking great!
The U.S. is now allowing Mexican companies free access to cross-border trucking.
Why am I not thrilled with this?
This one quote gives it all away:
"The government says [sic] it has imposed rigorous safety protocols in the program, including drug and alcohol testing for drivers done by U.S. companies. In addition, law enforcement officials have stepped up nationwide enforcement of a law that's been on the books since the 1970s requiring interstate truck and bus drivers to have a basic understanding of written and spoken English."
These "rigorous safety protocols" should also be in place for American trucking companies too. In fact, they probably are. But there is certainly a difference between having procedures and following AND enforcing those procedures or protocols.
If you live way out in the middle of no-where, or you keep yourself locked in your house and never travel, you may not see the big deal.
If, on the other hand, you've traveled anywhere in the last 10 years or so, you know what a PITA semi-trucks have become on our interstate system. They sit side by side for mile after mile going the same speed, and generally under a lower speed limit restriction than that of automobiles, essentially forming a rolling road block that can clog up traffic for miles. Don't believe me? Go drive on I-70 between Indianapolis and Terre Haute at nearly anytime of the day. Then, I dare you, look up into the cab and check out the ethnicity of the driver. Then, just for kicks, and you don't even have to observe semi-trucks, look at who is sitting in the left hand lane -- !the passing lane! -- doing 10 miles below the average speed of traffic. Chances are, they can't read English and they certainly don't understand our laws (or common courtesy for driving in the U.S.). Granted, there are Americans that somehow passed the drivers exam who think it is legal and appropriate to drive in any lane the wish (it is NOT), but those are, while completely annoying, generally few and far between (unless you happen to find yourself trying to navigate the stack of morons in SUVs traveling Georgia 400).
Pretty soon I'm going to lock myself in my house and not travel anywhere. God knows traveling by airplane went the way of dodo in terms of efficiency and convince a few years ago (and I'm talking pre-9/11 too -- the summer of 2000, and things never recovered).
Why am I not thrilled with this?
- It might hurt American trucking unions? -- no.
- Mexican trucks may not fall under the same emissions guidelines? -- no.
This one quote gives it all away:
"The government says [sic] it has imposed rigorous safety protocols in the program, including drug and alcohol testing for drivers done by U.S. companies. In addition, law enforcement officials have stepped up nationwide enforcement of a law that's been on the books since the 1970s requiring interstate truck and bus drivers to have a basic understanding of written and spoken English."
These "rigorous safety protocols" should also be in place for American trucking companies too. In fact, they probably are. But there is certainly a difference between having procedures and following AND enforcing those procedures or protocols.
If you live way out in the middle of no-where, or you keep yourself locked in your house and never travel, you may not see the big deal.
If, on the other hand, you've traveled anywhere in the last 10 years or so, you know what a PITA semi-trucks have become on our interstate system. They sit side by side for mile after mile going the same speed, and generally under a lower speed limit restriction than that of automobiles, essentially forming a rolling road block that can clog up traffic for miles. Don't believe me? Go drive on I-70 between Indianapolis and Terre Haute at nearly anytime of the day. Then, I dare you, look up into the cab and check out the ethnicity of the driver. Then, just for kicks, and you don't even have to observe semi-trucks, look at who is sitting in the left hand lane -- !the passing lane! -- doing 10 miles below the average speed of traffic. Chances are, they can't read English and they certainly don't understand our laws (or common courtesy for driving in the U.S.). Granted, there are Americans that somehow passed the drivers exam who think it is legal and appropriate to drive in any lane the wish (it is NOT), but those are, while completely annoying, generally few and far between (unless you happen to find yourself trying to navigate the stack of morons in SUVs traveling Georgia 400).
Pretty soon I'm going to lock myself in my house and not travel anywhere. God knows traveling by airplane went the way of dodo in terms of efficiency and convince a few years ago (and I'm talking pre-9/11 too -- the summer of 2000, and things never recovered).
