Living with a "deaf" computer + other interesting (hopefully) stuff  June 1 2003

The sound on my computer has been dead for a long while. For some of you, that would be ok. But for me it means that I can not hear any radio via the Internet (OR any CD's). So if I can't hear a program via short-wave or medium wave (AM) radio, then I don't hear it at all.

I rarely listen to programs via FM radio. Oops! That's not true!!!!! I listen almost every week day to "Take Five" via CBC Radio 2. It is a Classical Music request program. If you don't get CBC Radio 2 where you live, you can hear it online via http://www.cbc.ca Just look for "Take Five" under radio programs.

650 WSM wasn't coming in at all tonight. BUMMER!!!! (It is coming in finally. Yea!!!!) We are having very windy, cloudy, and rainy weather. That could be why. Unless the problem is on their end, which I doubt since WNMT isn't coming in either. (There are times lately when WSM has been trading off with WNMT from Nashwauk-Hibbing Minnesota.) Recently WSM went off the air late one night for routine maintenance of their transmitter. But they were still broadcasting on Satellite radio and via the Internet. For part of tonight I was unable to listen to the Grand Ol' Opry, so I was listening to 580 Memories CKWW out of Windsor, Ontario Canada. They are one of those AM stations that plays older music. They play anything from 60's pop to Big Band music. Right now CKWW just finished airing "Big Band Jump" and he was on the "F" files and played "Ferrante & Teicher". Can you imagine a 1960's "Trad Jazz" version of "Surrey With The Fringe On Top", complete with banjo? ("Trad Jazz" is a sort of stylized version of "traditional" 1920's Jazz) I think this song was considered "popular music" in the 1960's. It's not the Grand Ol' Opry, but it had to do. I like this music too.

It is CKWW that played (plays?) the old time radio dramas. Of course I can't ever remember to listen to them. I should listen to them every night so I can learn something. I am still wanting to finish my radio drama. Maybe I can write about that on here some day. I am looking for help with my storyline.

It's Wonderful Wonderful!!!!!!! Yes! As gloomy a day as it was, there were some wonderful moments. We went to this garage sale. Douglas almost passed it up. We got some real bargains. We both couldn't believe that anyone would sell these at a garage sale! Wow!!!! First off the guy sold us a fairly new looking Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for $5.00. Then we bought a "Smith's Bible Dictionary" for $2.00. And then to top it off we got a paperback "Amplified Bible"---both New and Old Testaments---for $1.00. If you want to add any of these books to your library ask us. That is why we bought them. Couldn't pass up the bargains!!!! A Strong's Concordance is normally around $25.00 or so new at Christian book stores.

Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime!!!!!! I was listening to my favorite short-wave radio talk show the other day, http://www.rfausa.com  The host was mentioning a book someone recommended to him called "Letters To Jessica A Child's Guide to Freedom of Mind and Spirit" by Robert Bissett http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7006/contents.html   It is my understanding that this book is only online. I haven't read it but it "sounds" interesting.

I found a web site from Texas dealing with issues of Home Schooling. They had a "Recommended Freedom Reading" list. http://homeschoolingtexas.org/hstx4.html Their main page is at http://homeschoolingtexas.org/hstxmain.html

It's Delightful... I also found a dictionary of British Slang. http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm

True Love----For You and I Have A Guardian Angel..... At least it isn't the version by television's Dr. Chilledair!!!!! I have that one upstairs in the 45 collection. The thought of hearing it is enough to give me a good dose of the "willies".... I think they are playing Pat Boone and some woman singing, but I am not sure. It is the best version of that song I have ever heard!! Most versions get a little too syrupy---this version was not too sweet!!

I have to be very careful using my computer now. I have learned the "dangers" of eating things like doughnuts and using the computer. I use a "track ball" mouse. The "ball" is on top rather than underneath. So if you eat any sticky finger foods it can gum up the works. Now, I went and put stickers on my keyboard. I have learned to print stickers on the computer. I have some mailing label stickers that I use to label boxes around the house. I saw an advertisement for these stickers with the Russian alphabet that you can stick on your keyboard. You need the sticker's on there, because if you type in Russian and you want to type the Russian letter that sounds like a letter "L", you press the English key for "K". In other words, you type an English "K" to get a Russian "L". The stickers for sale sounded expensive. I had heard of these stickers before. But this time I saw them, I got the idea to print them up myself. I used my handy mailing labels and made up my own red letters for my keyboard. The only problem is, the "store bought" letters won't run. Mine do. I should have laminated the sticker with clear sticky paper that I have, before I cut out the letters. Now if I have wet hands when I type, I will get red fingers and

smudged letters. I should have dry hands around electrics anyway.

It's Only A Matter Of Time.... Ok, as soon as I finish a few things, I can hopefully get back to writing on my radio drama. I did write some more to the outline a few weeks (or was that months?) ago. Speaking of "drama"... I have gotten Douglas slightly hooked on Coronation Street. That is the British soap that airs on the CBC. They are about six months behind the British episodes. I recently learned that in the U.K. they had a poll and the villain on "Corrie" was voted the worst Soap villain. He is (WAS by now) a investment person. He made money by having old ladies sell him their houses. He would give them the money and then he would wait till they died to sell the house and make a profit. Well he went bankrupt, got greedy and impatient. So characters started dieing off. Right now they are at an exciting edge of your seat part. This grandmother (the guy's mother in law) was being made to believe she had Alzheimer’s. Of course she has an ally now. But the daughter won't believe that her husband is out to kill her mother. The villain has his wife convinced that her mother is "going mad".

I wish I had this song upstairs. It is a clarinet song by Benny Goodman Trio probably. At least it sounds like them. What a song!! It sounds similar to the theme song of "This Old House". I have a vinyl 78 of Benny Goodman made for radio stations in the 1930's? or 1940's. I forget when it was recorded, but it says on it. It is one of my favorite records!! Benny Goodman was the first Jazz band to play Carnegie Hall. Before that it was a venue for "long hair music" only. (classical music) Then sometime in the 40's or 50's they were going to tear down Carnegie Hall. Can you believe that? A group of history minded citizens lobbied to keep it. We are indebted to them for their efforts. Just listen to "Stevie Ray Vaughan Live at Carnegie Hall" sometime to find out why.

I Would Give Everything I Own... Just To Have You Back Again... On Tuesday I should be able to listen to my CD's again... As we will have a CD player... (Some of you will know about that.) Right now we are soundless on the computer front. That is our only way of listening to CD's in the house. We have three computers but they don't all work properly at the moment. Yes we "need" three computers to do what we like to do. One is an old technology computer for old games. (Window$ 98 and below are "old" technology now.) Then, we have one so Douglas can put financial records or type teachings etc. if he wants to do that. Then my computer does the Internet. I am suffering from past virus damage. Douglas' gaming computer is suffering from battery/software problems. He left his gaming computer unplugged during some recent storms. The internal battery died. In most newer computers the way to get a new one

is to get a new case. DON'T LEAVE YOUR COMPUTER UNPLUGGED FOR EXTENDED PERIODS!! Then he was having software compatibility problems between the games and Window$. On his other computer they think the video card died. (That is the item inside the computer that allows the monitor [computer screen] to work properly.) Of course I wouldn't know a video card if I saw one---unless it said "Video Card" on it.

Are we living in a house of cards??? NO! But speaking of cards... Don't ask me how the computer works.... I just know how to turn it on and do a few things... [So that some of you can sort of "fathom" the following, A "driver" is the software or "computer language" that makes something on a computer do its thing (i.e. work). For example, you need a driver to make the mouse work. If you plug in the mouse and you don't have a driver, the mouse won't work. Of course Window$ has a lot of drivers that come with it. Oh, and you need a driver if you want to hunt, I mean, "hit" birds... Ha! (golf joke?)] From an E-mail I sent to my friend in China... (I am not really bothered by not having sound on my computer now. The less "fun" stuff I can do on my computer, the less time I can spend doing those "fun" things. The less time I spend on "fun" stuff, the more time I have to save the E-mails so I can have my computer re-built.)

Right now the sound does not work on my computer. I am very lazy and have not saved all the E-mails yet. The computer does not know it has a sound card. I did not remove it. I need to install the drivers for the sound card. I think I found a driver online, but I needed to know the "north and south bridge numbers" to install the right one. I downloaded a program that lets you know the "north and south bridge number" and the "chipset number". I can't understand the terms on the forms. It lets me know what I have, but it must use different names for the numbers. I do not know what these "chipset" numbers are anyway. It is all "Greek" to me. I did not download a driver that I found, because I was not sure that is the one I needed. Then I downloaded one driver and when you click on it, you get a "DOS" screen or "prompt". I do not know the commands for "install". I do not know how to tell it to "go". So I am deaf when I turn my computer on. (AND I am probably baffling some of you heavily. Therefore...) I'm Walking Yes Indeed.... Robyn