Um... I'm not dead yet!
Sorry about the unplanned disappearance, folks. Circumstances seriously conspired to keep me from blogging. I suspect George Soros.
First up, my home PC -- Frankenputer -- gave up the ghost. That pretty much ruined my Blogging Throne setup -- feet up, reclining heated massage chair, ergonomic keyboard, and dual 22" LCD monitors. I'd not realized how much that all contributed to my blogging ease. As great as my laptop (Electric Mayhem) is, it's just not as good a blogging platform.
Then thinks went all higgledy-piggledy at the Day Job. My schedule kept getting bounced around like a Happy Fun Ball.
I also had a few minor health-related instances that forced me to realize that, while I'll never be an Adonis, I've really, really, really let my physical condition slip. So I joined a health club, figuring I can at least -- to coin a phrase -- "hide the decline."
(added) And I've been working on a couple of online projects that best fall into the category of "Jay Tea's Evil Thoughts." I need to keep them quiet a bit longer, until I can bring them to fruition, but I've been having a bit of improper fun in a few places away from here... and plan to continue a bit longer before I pull back those curtains.
Well, I've gotten work somewhat squared away, and I bit the bullet and built myself a new home PC. Tentative name: "Il Monstro." (yes, it's a Meat Loaf reference. I'm not completely happy yet; this'll take some thinking. Specs below the fold.) I'm still getting it fully configured, but it's up and running enough to get back into blogging -- I hope.
Now it's time to start plowing through the backlog of blog posts that have been filling up the back of my mind...
Again, sorry for the absence. It's not been fun for me, either.
Upgrade:
Athlon XP 2000 to Athlon Phenom X4 9850
I GB DDR RAM to 4 GB DDR2
Radeon 9200 to GeForce 8400
Generic beige full tower case to gorgeous black NZXT Whisper full tower.
I've got eight hard drives of various sizes in there (40 GB to 500 GB), as well as a combo drive and a dedicated DVD burner, so this thing oughta do pretty much everything but the dishes by the time I'm done setting it up.
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Comments (17)
Maybe Dr. Teeth sabotaged y... (Below threshold)1. Posted by BlogDog | December 15, 2009 8:46 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Maybe Dr. Teeth sabotaged your laptop for stealing his band's name.
Good luck with the new computing masheen.
1. Posted by BlogDog | December 15, 2009 8:46 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 08:46
2. Posted by 1903A3 | December 15, 2009 9:12 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Glad your back JayTea.
2. Posted by 1903A3 | December 15, 2009 9:12 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 09:12
3. Posted by Eric | December 15, 2009 9:59 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Who are you again?
3. Posted by Eric | December 15, 2009 9:59 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 09:59
4. Posted by Matt | December 15, 2009 10:23 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
I think you can get and app for washing the dishes.
4. Posted by Matt | December 15, 2009 10:23 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 10:23
5. Posted by Mac Lorry | December 15, 2009 10:28 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
So what OS are you running and why?
5. Posted by Mac Lorry | December 15, 2009 10:28 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 10:28
6. Posted by Kat
| December 15, 2009 10:42 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
I dunno, Jay, I rather like Frankenputer... Maybe it could be Frankenputer Reborn or the Return of Frankenputer? ;-)
Anyway, glad you're back; I've missed you!
6. Posted by Kat
| December 15, 2009 10:42 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 10:42
7. Posted by Shawn | December 15, 2009 10:51 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
I don't buy it.
I've got proof.
Photos of Jay Tea wearing a purple Speedo in a seedy Miami hotel, eating pudding and shacking up with a manly chick named "Busty."
Bids start at $100.
7. Posted by Shawn | December 15, 2009 10:51 AM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 10:51
8. Posted by Jay Tea | December 15, 2009 10:53 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Mac, I'm still using my license for Windows XP. Too many old apps and games for anything but. Toyed with grabbing Windows 7, but didn't trust it with my older stuff.
Kat, "Frankenputer" won the name because I'd built it over years, gradually replacing almost every single component. Here, I've only recyled the hard drives (well, adding an SATA drive into the mix), monitors, keyboard, mouse, and speakers -- almost all the internal stuff is new. So it really doesn't fit.
Then again, it is MY name, after all...
J.
8. Posted by Jay Tea | December 15, 2009 10:53 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 10:53
9. Posted by Jay Tea | December 15, 2009 10:55 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Shawn, that's a damnable lie.
The speedo was blue, not purple.
It was not pudding, but Frito's.
And for the record, "Busty" did NOT have a ponytail, ride a bike, or play jazz...
J.
9. Posted by Jay Tea | December 15, 2009 10:55 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 10:55
10. Posted by Mac Lorry | December 15, 2009 11:17 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Jay,
I have 7 PC's in my lab, but my newest computer uses Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. One of the things you get with the Pro version is Windows XP Mode. It uses Windows Virtual PC to run a free full copy of XP Pro that seamlessly integrates with the host OS (Win 7 Pro). It works quite well and it's free with Win7 Pro. Just for your future reference.
10. Posted by Mac Lorry | December 15, 2009 11:17 AM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 11:17
11. Posted by Eric | December 15, 2009 12:05 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I'm running 64 Bit Windows 7 and it is screaming fast. I haven't had any app problems so far. I also upgraded my wife's computer from Vista 32 to Win7 64 and it is also noticably faster.
11. Posted by Eric | December 15, 2009 12:05 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 12:05
12. Posted by GarandFan | December 15, 2009 2:39 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Okay, what'd ya do with the REAL Jay Tea?
12. Posted by GarandFan | December 15, 2009 2:39 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 14:39
13. Posted by James H | December 15, 2009 3:04 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Actually, Jay Tea was attending MoveOn rallies ....
13. Posted by James H | December 15, 2009 3:04 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 15:04
14. Posted by RFA | December 15, 2009 5:53 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Jay Who?
Speedo! Holy Crap where is the Pepto. I think I'm gonna be ill.
14. Posted by RFA | December 15, 2009 5:53 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 17:53
15. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | December 15, 2009 6:49 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Jay,
I run XP in Sun Virtual Box session for the handfull of moldy oldies (like old Black Isle and Bullfrog games) that won't run or run well on 7. For a serious nostalgia session that requires all of my laptop's resources, I have the VM on a bootable USB stick. Have the same for Linux and Win 2000 as well.
Only cost was the USB sticks.
15. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | December 15, 2009 6:49 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 15, 2009 18:49
16. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | December 16, 2009 12:18 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Hot Patootie, Bless my soul, I just got a nice new rig too. I HIGHLY recommend the NVIDIA 3d Vision kit if you've got a compatible system.
Games and movies popping out of the screen is an absolutely awesome experience (I'm almost peeing my pants playing BioShock and Burnout Paradise).
So much geek stuff, so little time...
16. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | December 16, 2009 12:18 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 16, 2009 00:18
17. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | December 16, 2009 12:20 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Oh yeah, the Samsung 2233RZ is a bitchin' monitor to view 3d on... and I haven't used "bitchin'" since the 80's.
17. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | December 16, 2009 12:20 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 16, 2009 00:20