It was DOA

Yes my new hard disk was dead on arrival. I picked it up on Friday from Canada Computers at their West Island store. If you work or live in the area and you're a geek check it out. 

So I was all happy to have gotten this Samsung 1 TB 2.5" laptop drive. I take apart my Thinkpad Edge E40 to insert the new hard disk. I power on laptop and it hangs at the Lenovo Splash screen. I put back the old defective seagate and it finds a bootable device and attempts to boot.

So I try the Samsung in my monoprice docking station and it just makes clicking sounds. So back to Canada Computers I went. They took it back and ordered me another one. Crossing fingers and toes that this will be a good drive.

I miss my Thinkpad Edge E40. It's such a nice laptop. And I was on the Lenovo site just now, and I see they are going to support Windows 8 on the laptop. I noticed they had a new BIOS and new drivers for Windows 8. I'm not likely to ever install it, but I love the fact they provide the support.  I can't wait to get hrd disk and be up and running again.

I'm still not a big fan of Wind8ws

Doesn't Metro look "nice" on a stretched desktop?

Months after it's been out there I'm still not a big fan. Especially not in a stretched desktop, as illustrated. It wouldn't be so bad if you could turn this look off but you cannot. All other versions of windows you could choose to go to a classic or previous look, but not Wind8ws. Microsoft thought they would re-educate us on Windows. Just because someone had a vision doesn't mean we're all going to adopt it like sheep. I never used Windows Me or Vista on a home system. I suspect Wind8ws will also be such OS.

Marché Kim Hoa

It's not particularly spicy but it has a touch of bite.

Yesterday I went to Marché Kim Hoa  for the first time. I found two Miso Soups that had no MSG and no sugar that I could eat at work. This is one of them, the other is the red Miso soup. They are yummy. They are different then the ones I usually buy. 

I've been eating this Miso Soup for easily 10 years now. Love it.

My favourite Miso-Cup is the savoury soup with seaweed. Everyone always says when I make it that it makes the lab smell like French Fries!

I find Miso soup is delicious healthy soup I can have in a cup for lunch daily. It's warm, gluten free and veggie and tasty!

Pizza Veggie Stix

They are incredibly YUMMY!!!

Hardware Woes

I've been far less verbose in 2013. It doesn't help it's been at least a week or two since my laptop's hard disk has been giving me issues. It figures that the drive that came with my Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 was a SEAGATE. I tend to find them really flaky.  Usually when I have dead drives they are almost always SEAGATES at work. 

I've got a Samsung 1TB drive on order from Canada Computers. I found the price was right and it had a 3yr warranty

Then my desktop decided to act up. Suddenly it started just shutting down after 15 minutes. Sunday morning, not only did I wake up to the storm from hell but also to no electricity. So we went for breakfast then to Canada Computers. I bought a 750W Antec Power-supply and a cooling fan for the CPU. I knew one of the two was the cause of the problem. The power-supply was close to 4 years old and seem to be on it's last legs. The CPU fan had seized in the past couple of weeks. Before it had spent the past year making obnoxious noises that even WD-40 and other methods did not quiet.

So I changed both parts and I'm still having the same problem. It was because I was too delicate in screwing in the heatsync onto the bracket, hence the paste was not making contact with CPU and it was still overheating. After a bit of tightening screws now system is stable and very quiet. I should never underestimate my skills as a PC technician. I can generally figure out most issues.  It did take me most of the day Sunday but I figured it out!

Then I noticed that the fan on the Case cover is also dead. They don't have it in stock for pick up at the store but they have one 80x80x25mm with blue leds like my old one on the Canada Computer's website. I just have to order it.

Not just a Native thing, Idle no More!

Winter intern Saga finally finished?

I was desperate to find to find 2 more interns back in November, and through the help of a previous intern, I found 2 more candidates. Well come January 7th, the first day for my interns, one of them  showed up at 10am, because the cab he took got lost!?!?!! [still means he left home too late].

One of them didn't have a work permit or a Social Insurance Number. This is something that that cannot be by-passed. When the student was hired in early December he was clearly told he needed both.  He called HR in early January to ask if it was needed. So his contract was voided.

Late in December I got a call from a stage coordinator asking if I still had opened positions. At that point I didn't. However I called her back January 7th, to ask if she still had candidates, she had one. Then I realized his GPA was lower then what I was allowed to hire, so I asked if I could get an exception. That took several days to get approval. Then I was told, that I had to make sure I liked the guy and not just hire him because I was desperate.  In the end we interviewed the candidate on Thursday and it turns out he has skills that the HQA guy can use since we're supposed to share an intern.

The intern who showed up late, also seems to require an inordinate amount of hand holding, and has less skills then we thought he did. So his position as an intern is changing and the guy we just hired Friday to start on Monday will be shared between HQA and my team.

Hopefully things will settle down. The HR girl is complaining this is the rudest most self-entitled bunch we've had so far. I don't know, so far the other 4 we hired are doing ok. They seem nice enough and focused enough.

Happy New Year or is it?

I started the new year sick as a dog. I was bedridden from the 1st to the 5th, and then wasn't so hot until I had to go to work on the 7th. Gotta love how I often spend half of my Christmas vacations sick.

I really hope that having started 2013 sick isn't a sign of what's to come.  I've been pretty upset with the rape in India and the stupid comments to come out of it. The lawyer representing some of the 5 men who gang raped and killed a woman, says she was responsible for her rape.

It amazes me that in 2013, women are still considered like furniture with no rights. I mean it seems in India they treat cows better then they treat female humans. And what woman asks to be raped to the point where her intestines get ripped to shreds with a metal bar? I mean seriously? Rape her with a metal object and that's ok because she's sub human  It blows the mind!!!!  I'd like someone to shove a metal bar up the ass of all those men, and then ask them how it felt?

I support Idle no More!