The Patio

[PessOptimist]

We've been having a bit of fun in another serious thread where the DiskussionsforumChef who is also a DiskussionsforumFacharbeiter is trying to work through a software change/upgrade/problem while we yuck it up.


I don't want to stop yucking it up so I thought what better place than the patio.


I am at the end of my 4-10 AWS so I am ready for some R&R.

PO, I'm fairly certain this is not German. Looks more like German pig-Latin to me.. Funny.... Something about site, the bad finger and repair it! Lol...

Was sagst du? Miene deutschsprachig ist unfehlbar!

...Der springen werks ist definitely kaput!

The mainspring is broken or maybe the clockwork.

...ravensfan-nichts mit die siteseeren und gerfingerpoken so das machinenfacharbeiter machs das repairen...

Stop looking on and keep your fingers out of it so the tecnichian can fix it.


What's so hard about that?


dBa may be right about the language. I have no idea what to call it. I believe it developed as a result of the fractured German spoken by many Americans and the fractured English spoken during the many years a few hundred-thousand Americans were hosted as guests of the Federal Republic. Whatever, we were playing with it with the local national employees back in the day.The spelling and grammer is all wrong. Some of the words don't exist.


"Es war Der Beste aller Zeiten und Es war Der Schlimmste aller Zeiten. Die besten Jahre unseres Lebens, nicht" as we used to try to say.


Enough reminiscing about the past. Got to go to the doc tomorrow. They think there is a cat inside me? My dear departed dog could do a great cat scan. Can they do any better?


PO

 

[PessOptimist]

Computer stuff happening on the patio today. Maybe getting back to things that need doing. My old lap top (Dell D600, fine machine with a 38Gb HDD) has been sitting on a desk for six months or so now. Excuse was I might need something from the hard drive. Today I think I have everything I might ever need.
The drive certainly has pii on it so what to do. Install winxp again. The installation program says the version installed is newer than the disk (well yeah, SP3) so I must reboot from the CD. No prob except somewhere along the line someone instructed the laptop never to boot from the CD. Let’s try F8 then F12 then F2 etc. during startup. F12 gets a screen with boot choices but BIOS appears to take over and it still boots from HDD. F12 give a choice to BIOS settings so etc. etc. I get it to boot from the CD. HDD has three partitions? Never knew. What treasures might be on those partitions? I bought this thing used. A map to the missing money from the Brinks Robbery or DB Cooper? Too bad, only someone smarter than me can find out now.
That was fun, a trip down memory lane. Now I can donate it to a worthy cause which will immediately send it to a dump somewhere.
Seriously, any thoughts on how I might repurpose this for something? I mean repurpose it away from my ownership.
Have a great Sunday!
PO

 

[burrocrat]

Computer stuff happening on the patio today. Maybe getting back to things that need doing. My old lap top (Dell D600, fine machine with a 38Gb HDD) has been sitting on a desk for six months or so now. Excuse was I might need something from the hard drive. Today I think I have everything I might ever need.
The drive certainly has pii on it so what to do. Install winxp again. The installation program says the version installed is newer than the disk (well yeah, SP3) so I must reboot from the CD. No prob except somewhere along the line someone instructed the laptop never to boot from the CD. Let’s try F8 then F12 then F2 etc. during startup. F12 gets a screen with boot choices but BIOS appears to take over and it still boots from HDD. F12 give a choice to BIOS settings so etc. etc. I get it to boot from the CD. HDD has three partitions? Never knew. What treasures might be on those partitions? I bought this thing used. A map to the missing money from the Brinks Robbery or DB Cooper? Too bad, only someone smarter than me can find out now.
That was fun, a trip down memory lane. Now I can donate it to a worthy cause which will immediately send it to a dump somewhere.
Seriously, any thoughts on how I might repurpose this for something? I mean repurpose it away from my ownership.
Have a great Sunday!
PO

choot it choot it!

 

[alevin]

Are you saying you didn't use a military-grade disk-wipe program to completely overwrite everything you ever put on the disk, and that you didn't use that program to overwrite the disk about 20-30 times? Does reformatting and re-installing the operating system on the partition you used accomplish the same objective? I only knew one way to accomplish the objective up until now and that was using gov-grade disk-wipe program. willing to learn something new this fine Sunday. for instance I don't have a clue what the F keys are good for anymore, now that Windows has taken over the world from DOS, which I used to be fairly comfortable with in the wayback machine days. Manuals that come with new machines since Windows engulfed DOS, don't really talk about that part of the keyboard that I've ever found.

 

[konakathy]

Contact this organization in your area. They may be able to repurpose some of the parts. Make a difference PO !

Arizona Students Recycling Used Technology - Home

 

[nnuut]

Drive a nail through the HD, that's the way we used to do it when I was a Computer Administrator working for Uncle Sam, then they got smart and made a fancy program that would WIPE it.

 

[PessOptimist]

I like Burro’s idea. Then I can just leave it with the rest of the junk out there along with the spent rounds and ejected shells. And walk away.

11, what I did would keep you or I or most from finding any information. There are supposedly ways of finding past information from ANY type of storage media. Don’t know if you are being serious or not.
Here is as good an article as any on the function keys:
F1
As a throwback to DOS days, you will find that the F1 key will often bring up a help menu. If you press F1 while working in a program, help for that program will usually appear. If you press F1 while at the Windows desktop or when the Windows Explorer is open, a Windows help screen will pop up. If you happen to be working in a program and would like to see the Windows help screen, simply press the Windows key (the key with the Windows logo on the bottom row of keys) on your keyboard and press F1 at the same time.
F2
You can use the F2 key to rename an item when working in Windows. Highlight any folder or file, and press F2. You will then be able to type a new name for the object. After you type the new name, just click outside the name box or press the enter key to make the name change. This works just like right-clicking a file or folder and selecting Rename.
F3
When you are working in Windows, the F3 key will open the Find Files window.
F4
The F4 key has some very useful functionality. You can press F4 to open the Address bar when working in Internet Explorer. This will allow you to type the address of a Web page for quick access.
You can also press the Alt key and the F4 key at the same time to close the open Window that you are currently working on.
F5
The F5 key is the refresh key. You can press F5 when viewing a Web page to make sure that you have the most current version of that Web page. You can also use F5 when in Windows to refresh the screen. This can be a handy shortcut. If perhaps you are viewing the contents of a floppy disk and you insert a new floppy, your screen will still show the contents of the first floppy. Just press F5 to refresh the screen and see the contents of the floppy you just inserted.
F6
This key is often used to move the cursor around the structure of the program. Pressing it will often cycle you from window to window.
F7
The F7 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.
F8
The F8 key can be used to access Safe Mode if pressed during the computer’s boot up process. This is a trouble-shooting mode which will start the computer with minimal drivers.
F9
The F9 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.
F10
F10 is the key that is used to activate the menu bar in many programs. You can use F10 to highlight the first menu choice, and then use the arrow keys to move around the menus. Pressing the Shift key while pressing F10 will bring up the shortcut menu. This is similar to right-clicking on an object.
F11
Press F11 when you are working in Internet Explorer and the window will open to full screen mode. This will make all the toolbars disappear and can be useful to see more information on the screen. Press F11 when you are in full screen mode will toggle you back to your normal view.
F12
The F12 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.
For a real treat click on the ball in the lower left and type in cmd. Most of the old MSDOS commands work. Have a ball. You may have to choose run in some instances and then type in cmd.

KK, I am trying to make some small difference which is why I am sharing.

NNuut that makes the drive unspinnable but if some entity wants to extract info from the media they still can.

Thanks for the inputs, I will put on my RF shielding Kevlar hard hat and think about it some while munching on some about to expire MREs.

PO

 

[nnuut]

PO I knew that but that is what was required, and send it and the computer for disposal.

 

[alevin]

PO, I didn't know any of the above, so was perfectly serious. Kudos for sharing the expertise, it makes a small difference in the world, my keyboard and I are on much better terms now that we understand each other far better than we have since DOS disappeared behind a window somewhere to be seldomscene since then.

 

[PessOptimist]

This is getting kind of "been there done thatsy" so I move to the patio in order to let burro's thread remain on topic.

No. Graduated high school and my draft number was 26. I joined the Air Force soon after. I spent 2 years in Civil Air Patrol so it was kind of a no brainer. Basic training, 9 months Tech School and 2 years 71/2 months working on Minuteman Nuclear Missiles. Discharged April 16, 1974 and was hired by NASA May 20,1974. Spent 3 years in an apprenticeship program and retired May 3, 2012 as a GS12-9 and 42 years of government service. It was a great experience.

NASA, that brings back memories of a life changing event. Ever think there must have been something odd about the lottery number matching the day of the month?

No CAP for me, same length tech school but no pocket rocket for me. Common question asked at the time was "what the h3ll are those guys going to do when they get out?". Guess we know that now.

It WAS a great experience.

PO

PO,

At the time I never gave it a thought on how or why my number was so low. Had friends in HS that had high draft numbers and joined (Marines). Only one friend killed in Nam. Matter of fact he was the only one from our graduating class KIA. The pocket rocket was pretty cool and not everyone could say the worked for SAC.

It's funny how one decision can be a life changer. I came this close to reenlisting. They liked my work and I was promised my 4th stripe before years 4-5. Decided not to re-up. Got accepted to the Air Force Academy and at the last minute changed my mind not to take the offer. Either one of those choices would have kept me from working for NASA when I did and eventually meeting my wife. I sure can't see what direction either one of those choices would have led me but I'm not unhappy with the direction I have taken. No regrets and no what if's.

No regrets here either. The number thing was suggested to me later in life by someone who likes to talk of conspiracies and make everyone feel they got screwed somehow.
The decision about what to do was hard and personal for everyone. I had already extended my enlistment for 23 months to get “command sponsorship” in Germany for my wife and children. I got a line number for E-5 and had to either decline it or reenlist. Personally I was in the middle of getting a divorce and though my employer at the time of entering the service would honor the law about hiring me, they made it plain they had no work and mentioned two people I knew who had been laid off. Other employment opportunities “back home” were dismal minimum wage +$.25 prospects. Plus of course people back there were taking sides about the divorce issue. I reenlisted for four.
Things got exciting then, sewed it on, a COT to Greece. Travel plans made, POV from FRG to GR authorized, sponsor letter received, PRP (or whatever it was called then) paperwork all done, final interview scheduled. Uhoh! SSgt, we see you are getting divorced. That makes you unreliable and the assignment is cancelled.
MPC at the Taj Mahal sends me the worst assignment they can find, Ft Huachuca AZ. CBPO assignment person is laughing and says I can decline it and get out of my reenlistment and go home. I tell him I will take it and he is amazed. Why some people were so unhappy in a cushy assignment like RMAB GE in the 70s amazed me. Ft Huachuca turned out to be test and evaluation and once we had equipment to evaluate was great. Spent almost four years there. When the test was over, everyone is lamenting the fact they will get a short tour. I volunteered for shorts in places I wished to visit. Of course I was still single. I continued to volunteer for COT shorts and got my wishes until I got a line number for E-7. Then I got a personal call from the taj telling me they would not allow me to remain outside the US. I had one choice. Of course I needed to reenlist to keep the E-7 line number and accept the assignment so I did. Biggest decision was to reup for four or six. Four still didn’t get me 20 years but I opted for that hoping there might be a reenlistment bonus in four years. That was not to be and I got one bonus, the minimum allowed at the time earlier in my career. Once in the entire 24 years.
I knew this was going to turn in to a BS session about my AF time filled with acronyms that NASA or anyone else may or may not remember. So post it on the patio.
No regrets or what ifs. Nasa be proud of your pocket rocket and time in SAC. I had an uncle who was an AF lifer who got me interested in the USAF. He was in SAC for many years and always told me that if I got assigned to SAC all I had to do was learn the rules, always follow them and do the best job I could all the time. I tried to follow his advice no matter what command it was.
PO

 

[burrocrat]

I like Burro’s idea. Then I can just leave it with the rest of the junk out there along with the spent rounds and ejected shells. And walk away.

11, what I did would keep you or I or most from finding any information. There are supposedly ways of finding past information from ANY type of storage media. Don’t know if you are being serious or not.
Here is as good an article as any on the function keys:
F1
As a throwback to DOS days, you will find that the F1 key will often bring up a help menu. If you press F1 while working in a program, help for that program will usually appear. If you press F1 while at the Windows desktop or when the Windows Explorer is open, a Windows help screen will pop up. If you happen to be working in a program and would like to see the Windows help screen, simply press the Windows key (the key with the Windows logo on the bottom row of keys) on your keyboard and press F1 at the same time.
F2
You can use the F2 key to rename an item when working in Windows. Highlight any folder or file, and press F2. You will then be able to type a new name for the object. After you type the new name, just click outside the name box or press the enter key to make the name change. This works just like right-clicking a file or folder and selecting Rename.
F3
When you are working in Windows, the F3 key will open the Find Files window.
F4
The F4 key has some very useful functionality. You can press F4 to open the Address bar when working in Internet Explorer. This will allow you to type the address of a Web page for quick access.
You can also press the Alt key and the F4 key at the same time to close the open Window that you are currently working on.
F5
The F5 key is the refresh key. You can press F5 when viewing a Web page to make sure that you have the most current version of that Web page. You can also use F5 when in Windows to refresh the screen. This can be a handy shortcut. If perhaps you are viewing the contents of a floppy disk and you insert a new floppy, your screen will still show the contents of the first floppy. Just press F5 to refresh the screen and see the contents of the floppy you just inserted.
F6
This key is often used to move the cursor around the structure of the program. Pressing it will often cycle you from window to window.
F7
The F7 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.
F8
The F8 key can be used to access Safe Mode if pressed during the computer’s boot up process. This is a trouble-shooting mode which will start the computer with minimal drivers.
F9
The F9 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.
F10
F10 is the key that is used to activate the menu bar in many programs. You can use F10 to highlight the first menu choice, and then use the arrow keys to move around the menus. Pressing the Shift key while pressing F10 will bring up the shortcut menu. This is similar to right-clicking on an object.
F11
Press F11 when you are working in Internet Explorer and the window will open to full screen mode. This will make all the toolbars disappear and can be useful to see more information on the screen. Press F11 when you are in full screen mode will toggle you back to your normal view.
F12
The F12 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.
For a real treat click on the ball in the lower left and type in cmd. Most of the old MSDOS commands work. Have a ball. You may have to choose run in some instances and then type in cmd.

KK, I am trying to make some small difference which is why I am sharing.

NNuut that makes the drive unspinnable but if some entity wants to extract info from the media they still can.

Thanks for the inputs, I will put on my RF shielding Kevlar hard hat and think about it some while munching on some about to expire MREs.

PO

so what does the FU key do?

 

[PessOptimist]

Depending on the OS, the same as the ANY key.

PO

 

[PessOptimist]

Week is over. Did my team player OT so all are happy. I hope. You never know.

Doing chores and went to buy stuff needed. Got a haircut too. My gosh, AAFES charges $10.80 for a haircut now. I don't even want to know what it may cost in a real salon with music, exotic potions and who knows what. At the BX I did get my head vacuumed and hands running through my hair. Got my annual summer cut. 3[SUP]1/2[/SUP] on the top, 2 on the sides, taper. Usual warning “you know how short that is?” confirmation to do it. Feels great and I no longer look like a homeless vagrant.

SO had vehicle in for recall and service check. Likes to take it to the dealer and my days of DYI are pretty much over. Battery just barely passes load test. Hmmm. Phoenix, hot, batteries fail suddenly due to heat, all things using electric on at all times in this vehicle, likely call in the middle of work day because it won’t start; buy a new battery. Local dealer is pretty good with maintenance and prices. Good old “trustworthy local independent mechanic” has never been found. I have looked.
Dealer wants $110 to replace battery. What? Looked around and batteries are real expensive everywhere. This is actually a bargain since they will have ownership will get the call if all is not up to expectations. Yeah, I saw the internet vendors stating $29.95. The local parts stores want a lot more.

Life is good.

PO

 

[konakathy]

Hey, PO! What are you wearing in the patio?

 

[PessOptimist]

flip flops

 

[konakathy]

:laugh: Good. I was planning on stopping by to post a rant in The Patio and wasn't sure what attire was appropriate. I'm barefoot...ive been wearing shoes and socks all day and my feet need to breathe. They're clean, too!

So, ok, here's my rant. As you may be aware , today was the 23rd annual NALC Food Drive. Most of you should have received a blue bag in your mailbox this past week to leave food in and your letter carrier was going to pick it up today. We are very proud to help out all the food banks across the nation and take pride in this one day event. Most carriers can come back of their route with the back of the truck crammed with the generous food donations, and then their are some routes that bring back hardly anything.

My route is made up of businesses, condominiums and residential deliveries. I have 987 deliveries on my route and actual deliveries this time of year, maybe close to 800 active. I don't expect to pick up much food from the businesses, they leave the bags at their home deliveries. The condo's I expect maybe 20-30 people at each unit to leave food...all good. I have 3 residential neighborhoods, one is very,very affluent, one is middle class and the last one is the poorest of the poor neighborhoods in Kona.

Which neighborhood on on my route gave the most and went out of their way to make sure they gave something?!!!! The seniors and the poorest ones on my route. The people living behind the gated communities gave squat! I'm trying not to judge , just pointing out an observation I see with certain socioeconomic classes and I just smdh.

As a whole, the community of Kona and the entire Big Island were very generous with their food donations. I think the Food Basket will be very pleased. So all is well.

Thanks, PO! I feel better. Glad I stopped by. Ahhhh, was clothing optional? :cheesy: :ban:

 

[PessOptimist]

Good. I was planning on stopping by to post a rant in The Patio and wasn't sure what attire was appropriate. I'm barefoot...ive been wearing shoes and socks all day and my feet need to breathe. They're clean, too!

So, ok, here's my rant. As you may be aware , today was the 23rd annual NALC Food Drive. Most of you should have received a blue bag in your mailbox this past week to leave food in and your letter carrier was going to pick it up today. We are very proud to help out all the food banks across the nation and take pride in this one day event. Most carriers can come back of their route with the back of the truck crammed with the generous food donations, and then their are some routes that bring back hardly anything.

My route is made up of businesses, condominiums and residential deliveries. I have 987 deliveries on my route and actual deliveries this time of year, maybe close to 800 active. I don't expect to pick up much food from the businesses, they leave the bags at their home deliveries. The condo's I expect maybe 20-30 people at each unit to leave food...all good. I have 3 residential neighborhoods, one is very,very affluent, one is middle class and the last one is the poorest of the poor neighborhoods in Kona.

Which neighborhood on on my route gave the most and went out of their way to make sure they gave something?!!!! The seniors and the poorest ones on my route. The people living behind the gated communities gave squat! I'm trying not to judge , just pointing out an observation I see with certain socioeconomic classes and I just smdh.

As a whole, the community of Kona and the entire Big Island were very generous with their food donations. I think the Food Basket will be very pleased. So all is well.

Thanks, PO! I feel better. Glad I stopped by. Ahhhh, was clothing optional?

You and everyone are welcome at any time for any purpose.

Thank you to all mail men and femail men for that annual campaign. Mail carriers I meant of course.

I am not surprised about the results you saw. The denizens of the gated communities include all political spectrums. Perhaps some contribute to some foundation or maybe even run one. I am sure they all are concerned about those they never see due to the heavily tinted windows in their limousines and their servants.

Clothing is optional but there is no guarantee about PC eye contact. Pool temp is about 49 degrees F.

PO

 

[Lindoug]

Hey KK,

I just heard about the NALC Food Drive late last week. On the radio they were discussing that we should have gotten our blue bags on Thursday. Great, I'd love to participate! Unfortunately, we did not receive a blue bag in our mailbox. I know I can donate lots of places, but my rant is about the fact that not everybody is getting invited to the party. I live in an upper middle class neighborhood, so I would think we would have gotten our blue bag. Is it up to the individual carrier, and some just don't care?

 

[konakathy]

Hey KK,

I just heard about the NALC Food Drive late last week. On the radio they were discussing that we should have gotten our blue bags on Thursday. Great, I'd love to participate! Unfortunately, we did not receive a blue bag in our mailbox. I know I can donate lots of places, but my rant is about the fact that not everybody is getting invited to the party. I live in an upper middle class neighborhood, so I would think we would have gotten our blue bag. Is it up to the individual carrier, and some just don't care?

I hate hearing that Lindoug. Unfortunately, your neighborhood not getting any blue bags is a question I can't answer; I can only speak for my office. I would call your local PO and find out why. This is a national campaign and all offices
should participate.

The blue bags we deliver are a reminder and a convenience for the customer to leave canned goods, but you can leave food in any bag or box by your mailbox and we will pick it up. One year I had a customer load my truck with cases of food he bought from Costco and 20 5lb bags of rice! I had to make a special trip back to the office for a drop off. So, leave what you want and can, any way you can. We will pick it up.

 

[Lindoug]

Thanks! We'll do that!