Back to the drawing board

Welp, that card loaded up okay, but when it came time for it to play it locked up the TX. I'll reformat it and try again, this time doing it the way I'm supposed to using the Palm software install tool.

In other news, I may have committed one of the great blunders in fandom, comparable to getting involved in a land war in Asia or going up against a Sicilian when death is on the line (if you're not the Dread Pirate Roberts, of course): arguing with HP fanfic fans. It all started when I expressed skepticism in the comments to this Ursula Vernon LJ post that beta readers would have helped Ms. Rowling with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; matters then degenerated into an argument about the relative merits of professional writers who have several best sellers on their resumes, and fanfic writers who don't. O, t3h drama. I'm trying to extract myself by replying to comments with: "Yeah, that's your opinion. Whatever." since these people are pretty clearly off the deep end, but I have the sinking feeling that this is doomed to end up on fandom_wank.

It's still cold out there, but not quite as bad as yesterday. It's also not as cold inside as it was yesterday. The barn animals that walk like accountants are evidently taking the graffiti-ized sign on the print room door (I scribbled over the word "mostly" before "closed", so that the sign now reads PLEASE KEEP THIS DOOR MOSTLY CLOSED) seriously.

Back to the drawing board

Welp, that card loaded up okay, but when it came time for it to play it locked up the TX. I'll reformat it and try again, this time doing it the way I'm supposed to using the Palm software install tool.

In other news, I may have committed one of the great blunders in fandom, comparable to getting involved in a land war in Asia or going up against a Sicilian when death is on the line (if you're not the Dread Pirate Roberts, of course): arguing with HP fanfic fans. It all started when I expressed skepticism in the comments to this Ursula Vernon LJ post that beta readers would have helped Ms. Rowling with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; matters then degenerated into an argument about the relative merits of professional writers who have several best sellers on their resumes, and fanfic writers who don't. O, t3h drama. I'm trying to extract myself by replying to comments with: "Yeah, that's your opinion. Whatever." since these people are pretty clearly off the deep end, but I have the sinking feeling that this is doomed to end up on fandom_wank.

It's still cold out there, but not quite as bad as yesterday. It's also not as cold inside as it was yesterday. The barn animals that walk like accountants are evidently taking the graffiti-ized sign on the print room door (I scribbled over the word "mostly" before "closed", so that the sign now reads PLEASE KEEP THIS DOOR MOSTLY CLOSED) seriously.

Because diplomas aren't what they used to be

The Army is going to allow more high-school dropouts to enlist if they pass certain criteria, according to an article in the Newark Star-Ledger. Recruits brought in under the TTAS provision will be required to take and pass the GED as well as passing a motivational screening test. I'm all in favor of this, especially if the screening works well and the washout rate stays around the 6% noted in the early testing. (By comparison, high school grads' washout rate is ~5% and non-TTAS dropouts' rate is about double that.) There's no reason it shouldn't. A lot of kids just don't do well in the education factories that many public schools have become, and not all of those kids are stupid or unmotivated. So it's good to see that the Army is looking at what these kids can do as opposed to what their credentials are. See also the GED Plus enlistment option. (h/t Jack Army)

Because diplomas aren't what they used to be

The Army is going to allow more high-school dropouts to enlist if they pass certain criteria, according to an article in the Newark Star-Ledger. Recruits brought in under the TTAS provision will be required to take and pass the GED as well as passing a motivational screening test. I'm all in favor of this, especially if the screening works well and the washout rate stays around the 6% noted in the early testing. (By comparison, high school grads' washout rate is ~5% and non-TTAS dropouts' rate is about double that.) There's no reason it shouldn't. A lot of kids just don't do well in the education factories that many public schools have become, and not all of those kids are stupid or unmotivated. So it's good to see that the Army is looking at what these kids can do as opposed to what their credentials are. See also the GED Plus enlistment option. (h/t Jack Army)

What do you do with a damaged printer?

For some months now my HP Laserjet has been hors de combat after something fell into it and munged up the transfer roller. Today I finally got bored enough to look into the various options for repair & replacement, and the bottom line is that I could fix it...if I didn't have ten thumbs and the mechanical aptitude of a retarded howler monkey. I also don't feel much like throwing $50 (or more) at the Geek Squad to replace a ten-dollar roller. So, either I find somebody to fix the thing who is willing to swap labor for dinner, or donate it to someplace that can fix it, after which I'll make do with something a little more low-end, like, say, this Deskjet.

What do you do with a damaged printer?

For some months now my HP Laserjet has been hors de combat after something fell into it and munged up the transfer roller. Today I finally got bored enough to look into the various options for repair & replacement, and the bottom line is that I could fix it...if I didn't have ten thumbs and the mechanical aptitude of a retarded howler monkey. I also don't feel much like throwing $50 (or more) at the Geek Squad to replace a ten-dollar roller. So, either I find somebody to fix the thing who is willing to swap labor for dinner, or donate it to someplace that can fix it, after which I'll make do with something a little more low-end, like, say, this Deskjet.

When all you can say is "If only..."

Time to call Newegg and get the RMA, I guess...this SD card just isn't cutting it. Even after reformatting and loading the songs in by the numbers, it still locks up the TX and requires me to reboot, which is definitely not the way this is supposed to work.

Ah, well. At least my copy of On Your Feet Or On Your Knees came in, and I managed to escape the B&N without buying anything else...though I was severely tempted by the paperback edition of Prayers for the Assassin.

One odd link before bedtime - turns out some folks are building five brand-new (and slightly improved) Me-262 jet fighters. Wonder if any of them are BoC fans? :)

When all you can say is "If only..."

Time to call Newegg and get the RMA, I guess...this SD card just isn't cutting it. Even after reformatting and loading the songs in by the numbers, it still locks up the TX and requires me to reboot, which is definitely not the way this is supposed to work.

Ah, well. At least my copy of On Your Feet Or On Your Knees came in, and I managed to escape the B&N without buying anything else...though I was severely tempted by the paperback edition of Prayers for the Assassin.

One odd link before bedtime - turns out some folks are building five brand-new (and slightly improved) Me-262 jet fighters. Wonder if any of them are BoC fans? :)