Overheated Lappy!

I had some problems the other day. My laptop computer was overheating. I was getting this strange "heated plastic" smell. Anyway I went out into the World Wide Webs to find an answer. And pictures of boobs.
What I found was a nifty FREEWARE utility called Speedfan, which allows you control over your fan and more importantly, gives you a temperature reading of your CPU! Awesome! While I am not attempting to change any of the fan settings, I was trying to see how hot my computer was. Typically your computer should be running around 45 C to 55C for an optimal temperature, but the cooler your computer is the happier it will be for most purposes. When I ran Speedfan it told me what I already suspected. That my laptop was overheating. This disturbed and frightened me, because I have not money to get a new computer should this one break down on me. (I can't even keep my truck on the road!). My CPU was running at 72C!!! Here is breakdown of laptop temperatures.

25 C to 35 C You are operating your laptop in a freezer or the arctic, no problems, make sure your LCD screen remains operational.

35 C to 45 C Your laptop is brand new. And you are not heating your apartment or house because you are too cheap. Its probably for the best because of high energy costs these days.

45 C to 55C This is your 'normal' operating temperature. Keep your eye on it, but all is well. For now.

55 C to 65 C You are a contractor working in a desert somewhere. Your lappy is running a little hot, but nothing to be too worried about. You might want to take your laptop from your actual lap as the added heat may cause temporary sterility. You might also want to switch to boxer briefs for the same reason.

65 C to 75 C Its too hot. You should be a little alarmed now. Your laptop has now replaced your space heater as the major heating source in your apartment.

75 C to 85 C This is dangerously hot. Your coffee is best kept warm placed close to your lappy. Possible issues: battery problems, stogged fan, overclocking or your CPU is working too hard.

85 C to 95 C Your laptop has shut itself down and you are at Circuit City or Best Buy looking for a new one. If it's still working, the fumes from melting plastic are making you delerious. There is a pretty decent chance your computer will burn your house down.

95 C to 105 C Your house or apartment block is smoldering rubble and a lot of people are upset with you.

105 C and above If your lappy has lasted this long and is this hot it will actually ignite the oxygen and hydrogen particles around it creating a 'mini-sun' that will burn anyting within a 50 meter radius.

So anyway, back to my computer. See the problem with it was that I had not done much maintenance. (Read: I hadn't done ANY maintenance) I hadn't shaken the dust from it, got rid of the ad- and spy-ware, and defragged it.
I ran Spybot: Search and Destroy and CCleaner. Then I defragged it with a pretty decent utility from Auslogic called Disk Defrag that's not supposed to crash your computer.

It took a day but after I was finished...woohoo! My lappy was running at a respectable 55 C/60 C!

The next step was to open her up and get the crud out.


So here is the super ultra Model 354a Power Fan opening. Actually I don't know what it is, it has something to do with a 'heatsink'. Anyway, to clean it properly I allegedly had to open up part of my laptop.


Which is what I am doing here...I basically tore the panel off. It was attached with little tabs.

Once that panel was safely discarded I needed to remove the keypad to see what else was under it. I needed to get to the fan and heatsink so I could use the bottled air and clean it out. There was two little screws just above the F5 and F10 keys. I took them out...

...and VOILA! The keyboard was off and I could see my heatsink and fan contraption. I was told that there may be more heatsinks placed in different parts, but for my purpose, this was good enough.

Then I gave it all a blast with the canned air, making sure to blow the dust outward, and also making sure not to turn the fan too fast. I also made sure that I did not blow those two tiny little screws that held my keyboard in place off the table where I was working; so I wouldn't have to crawl around on the floor looking for the damnable things.



I ran Speedfan once again, and now my CPU temperature is a normal 45 C to 55 C. I am happy, my computer is happy and ad driven web content providers are happy.

Stupid Aliant

I waited at home for the internet guy to come....and can anybody guess what happened?

YES, he totally didn't even show! He never even called to say he was not coming.
I called Aliant around 3pm to ask if he was going to arrive, and they asured me that he would, between 8.30 am and 5pm. No problem.
Ten after five, I called Aliant back, wondering what the hell the deal was:

Me: So, uh yeah, is this guy coming or what? I mean its past five...
Tech: Well, it doesn't say anything on his message list, so there is a chance he might come.
Me: Ok, well if he doesn't come then wil he call or something? Or will he just not show up?
Tech: He just won't show up.
Me: Then I have to call and reschedule, or whats the deal if he doesn't come the day he is supposed to?
Tech: Well, maybe he comes tomorrow, I am not sure...
Me: Seriously though, I waited here all day long waiting for this guy who may or may not show up, and won't call if he doesn't, you know...to reschedule. I am not going to wait here tomorrow because I have things I want to do. And that isn't the point because he was scheduled to be here today, so he should be here today!
Tech: Well I am looking here and it says he wouldn't be available until the middle of next week, he is booked for tomorrow.
Me: WTF! Just cancel him, pal! I am going to end my service here!
Tech: Is there someone I can put you through to to figure this out?
Me: Is there someone there that can do more to help me? You know, to get my service hooked up?
Tech: Well I will put you through to sales then.
Me: Are they open today??!
Tech: Oh, right. No they aren't. Sorry.
Me: Whatever man. I will deal with this tomorrow.
Tech: Well have a nice day and thank you for choosing Aliant.
Me: Go #$% your $%&%!!

Well, I never told him off at the end, but I wanted to. He is no doubt a low level call center contractor, hung over and trying to make a dollar in his crappy world, and would never deserve such an invective.

So we shall see what happens tomorrow. I am prepared to switch to Eastlink ASAP.

Work Update + Lion

So basically I am just sitting here waiting for the internet guy to come and reconect my high-speed service. But seriously...who works on a Sunday?? I also have a grim expectation that this won't work. Its the way of the world. So far Aliant has been incompetent...but whatever.

So anyway, reporting back about my first day at work.
Well, because I am so dedicated and solicitous, I showed up at 6.30am and we promptly began unloading stacks and stacks of bread. More bread than I thought could possibly be sold...and much more bread than we actually had display room for. I quickly became a pro at cramming loaves and I was cramming them EVERYWHERE. I was so afraid somebody would pinch a loaf when we weren't looking!
As it turns out, the Boulangerie La Vendeene booth is probably the busiest booth in the entire market. It was non-stop the entire time. People would wait for ten or fifteen minutes to get a few loaves of bread pushing and shoving and becoming passive-aggressive; fights began to break out and a few people got hurt badly. I suppose it would have helped had I not got into fist fights with the customers when they got out of line or became snippy, but drastic times call for drastic measures. And wherever there is a drastic measure, there is me.
We were basically sold out by noon. It was startling. It was more startling that I actually worked. I am a quintessential layabout, a literal indolent scammer; dodging hard work at every opportunity. I was startled. I am sure even Jesus was startled.

I saw this interesting video. I was touched.
I mean I was emotionally touched...not mentally touched. Although that may be the case.

Here is the video.

High speed + Advertisements

First of all, my high-speed is down, so I am stealing somebodies wireless signal; which aside from being painfuly slow is also extremely bad for my computer security. I was working yesterday on some things....you know...viewing material on the internet when, SHAZZAAAM, the pages didn't load anymore. I called to see if it was a network problem, but alas..it wasn't. It was me. And only me. The earliest they could get someone in to fix the problem was this sunday. I know...it's so stupid. Another lesson in patience for me.

Secondly, you will start to see advertisements on my page in the coming days. This is a good thing! Click on those adverts. Every click will support me in my fight for social justice through worldwide domination! For real though...clicky clicky.

Thirdly, I am starting my new job at the Halifax Saturday Farmers Market, slinging bread at the Boulangerie La Vendeene from 7am to 1pm tomorrow. If you are in town, come and visit me; congratulate me because this is the first real job I have held down in a long time. Who knows, maybe one day I might work five or six days a week!

Another stellar photo of me...hey ladies! You come here sometimes?

Also sometimes you know about things you can't un-know; but at the same time, it's better off that you DO know.

The pirate claimed his booty, ARRRR!

Police Shooting + Capoeira

I am taking capoeira clases again and realising that I am now longer the lithe, sleek and muscular lemur I once was. Attempting the movements once again I feel like a beached manatee (a sea-cow on the beach flopping about whilst tourists take pictures of the pitiable thing). The instructor said I still looked alright, but, I felt awful. No wait...actually right now I feel awful; now that I just got up, I am nursing a ankle injury and a back ache, and my knees are all wobbly. Which is all a real surprise, since over the past several months I have been working out like a maniac, jogging and going to the gym. Capoeira is the true qualifier of personal fitness...give it a shot and see how fit you actually are!

I was sitting on my computer yesterday staring longingly into the computer screen, wishing desperately that someone would visit my blog, when I hearda siren and some gunfire ring out. Well right away I thought "Who in the hell is getting shot at??", it was loud pops and the siren was on only for a moment. But in the past I have known gunfire to sound like a sharp 'crack'. "Hahaha, this is Halifax, no guns have been shot here since the '30's..." I told myself, "it must be from the auto garage across the road from me."
And I let it be.
As it happens my capoeira studio is literally right underneath my apartment and when I walked outside the street across from me was covered with police tape and police cruisers and police guys.
"Huh. I guess it really was a shooting."

(Cue Music: Bad Boys, Bad Boys, watcha gonna do...watcha gonna do when they come for you?)

Send me on a mission, dear readers!

First off, thanks for all the visits to my blog. I am open to suggestions about any content changes or interesting posts that you would like to see. Perhaps you want to send me on a mission..I will act as your agent here in Halifax...completely on your behalf. Seriously, all your suggestions will be considered. This blog is interactive and totally AWESOME!

Sarcasm

I LOVE this site!

Even though I am rarely sarcastic. But even if I was sarcastic, I am sure everyone loves it.

Newfie time!

If you are ever in Newfoundland and its 3:40, make sure to ask someone the time.

Me: Excuse me...can you tell me the time, please?
Newfie: Yup, its tree-farty.
Me: Tee hee!
Newfie: ?

Mahone Bay + Rules

First Rule of Breaking Balls:

1. Quit breaking my balls.

You know, sometimes I feel hard done by, but I realise that often I overlook the good and fun times; basically my crazy mind focusses on the negative memorie rather than the positive ones. Or often I focus on the negative rather than seeing that despite all the rubbish things that I perceive happening, life is actually, you know, pretty good.

The Town of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Yesterday I went on a trip to Peggy's Cove and Mahone. Peggy's Cove was actually very nice, mostly because we went early and there were not too many people. Typically people crawl over the rocks like ants. The drive to Mahone and Mahone itself was the real treat. The weather was in the mid 20's, sunny...the trees were turning all sorts of colours (actually only red, orange and yellow) and despite my truck neaqrly catching fire, it was perfect. Beautiful.

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia


Another picture of Mahone Bay...try and visit once in your life its pretty awesome.


Peggy's Cove. It's a Nova Scotia institution.

Waylaid Aussie + Drunk Irishman

This morning I had a pick-up at the Halifax Backpackers Hostel. Alan the Irishman was leaving for St.John's, Newfoundland and it was up to me to get him there. The only problem was, he and a few others decided to have one last drunken revelry the night before. The other caveat was that Fiona the Aussie needed a ride to the airport at the same time. The pick up was for 9 o'clock am so I had made sure to get there half an hour early...which was not a problem. The hostel staff informed me that Alan had been on the roof o the hostel as early as two hours ago, but stupidly I was not consternated, so I sat until ten minutes to the hour drinking coffee and browsing the paper; I went up to the second floor where his dormitory was, and sure enough he was fast asleep. I gave him a few shakes, and whistled loudly at him. He was still very, very drunk. Everyone else in the room grumbled at my intrusion and snide comments were thrown carelessly about and only because of my proffessional demeanor did I refrain from berating these slothful clowns, who should have been up hours ago, engaging in something productive.
Fiona had already been up and ready to go when I arrived, and I could see that she was becoming very agitated, for every good reason. Nearly half nine, Alan stumbled downstairs, smelling like a brewery, in socks complaining about lost shoes. I herded him out to the truck, but at that time there was little hope that Fiona would catch her flight. It turned out that Alans shoes were on the street, and we retrieved them unsurreptiously. We were able to get to the airport on time...but Fiona had to re-book her flight, and was able to get some money from Alan for the fees and another nights stay at the hostel.

I am thinking about getting out of this business. Its too stressful.

Allsorts + Hockey Game

I have a new obsession. And its not stapling peoples trousers shut and filling them with sand. Nor is it the hot woman who walks past my apartment to work every weekday morning between 8:30 and 8:37 am. Nope. Its Licorice Allsorts. I started eating them when I was in St.John's, but until that point I was unjustifiably maligned to them for some reason. I think because of the strong taste, and that it did not fulfil my stereotype of 'candy' ie, chocolate, super-sweet, but you know....when I starting eating my first pieces, I was impressed. It was sweet! It was strong, of course, but delightfully so! Since then, from time to time, I get it into my head to seek them out when I want to treat myself. Because I freakin' love 'em!


I was talking to guy I met here, Gordon, he has a ragged chin beard, always wears cut-off shorts, and a head rag, the total effect which makes him look like some sort of urban pirate; anyway I offered him an Allsort, and he got really excited.

Gordon: OH! I don't really like them. Well except for one type.
Me: Oh yeah?
Gordon: Yeah let's see if it's here...(digging around in my allsorts package)
Me: So basically you like Allsorts, but just one kind?
Gordon: Yeah. Damn I don't think its here...
Me: Why not say 'I like Somesorts, instead of saying I don't like Allsorts.'?
Gordon: Wha? That works. Yeah, I like Somesorts, but not ALLsorts.

So anyway. Last night I went to a hockey game with a friend here, John the Scot. I like to say that out loud because it's like I am quantifying his name with another name. Whatever...we went to see the Halifax Mooseheads play the St.John's Fogdevils. I must say that I was cheering for the Fogdevils. The game was good, I think, but I realise now more than ever how little I watch hockey and how little I know about it. You see it was John's first game and he had a fair few questions about the rules, what was happening, how Zamboni's worked etc. etc. And to be honest I hadn't a solitary clue. The whistle would ring out and the players would stop, the crowd would boo loudly and then a player would be hauled off to the penalty box. I would stare open-mouthed at the ice trying to figure out what happened so I had an intelligent reply to his questions.

John: What happened?
Me: Uhhhh...ummmm....hold on.
John: Some kind of penalty, it seems.
Me: Oh yes, yes...its a penalty. Yeah, that happens from time to time, in hockey, my national past-time.
John: (Takes sip from beer)
Announcer: PENALTY! EIGHT MINUTES TO NUMBER 19 FOR ROUGHING!
Me: It was a penalty for roughing.

Despite my ignorance of the game, it was a good time. Mooseheads went on to win the game 4-2. I think I would see more games, too. If the venue was any bigger or the games more hyped, I doubt I would...but I really prefer the smaller size of the games. Its less of a hassle and you can get cheap seats that still have a really good view.

Wikipedia's Ice Hockey Entry

A Rainy Day in Halifax + Send me Money

Okee dokee....So I guess as the title suggest I am here in Halifax, and for some three weeks or so.

1. I Have found an apartment, I wil have some pictures shortly.
2. I have found a little work. From time to time I recieve calls to taxi people to and from the airport (the airport is rather inconveniently placed 30 minutes outside of the city), and I also take people on trips to sightseeing and tourist spots around the city. I recently got a job working at the Halifax Saturday Market at a boulangerie booth. I start next week...the 27th of October.
3. I am wondering if I can afford my truck. Maybe for this month, maybe for a few months. Maybe until I find some steady work. Maybe until someone gives me money. Which is a great idea...just be given money....what an awesome idea, that has not been thought of or done by anybody in all of history, EVER!

Okay. New initiative.

Send me Money, and I will send you something back. A picture, a postcard, anything...perhaps a short video outlining my gratitude. I am setting up a paypal account, an email and we can discuss what I can send in exchange for your $$. Let's keep it all civil and G rated, you weirdos.
I will post the details shortly.