Flux Capacitor NOT fluxing, Engine not running...

Props to those who can figure out the reference ;)

So, I think I've mentioned my computer problems that have developed over the last few weeks. First it was freezing up and rebooting, and it also smelled like something was burning. I called the guy at the shop that I go to and he told me to bring it in because it sounded to him like I had a virus. I had my doubts of course, as to me it didn't sound like it could possibly be a virus, so I decided to wait until my brother could help me over the holidays. I'm very glad I did.

One of the things I did was buy myself a nice new computer case. They can be quite fancy, and they're not just for looks. Most of them are for function as they add better cooling and airflow to keep things from overheating. I got one with a precision machined steel front panel, and the side has a plex-glass window where you can look into it and see everything running. It's got one front fan for pulling air in, and one exhaust fan which glows blue that brings the air out. It's this one right here, except the design changed. Mine doesn't have locks and has a window on the side instead, which they don't show on the website: http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-tj02.htm

Anyway, as my brother was transferring things over to my new case, it took one look at my motherboard for him to realize what my problem was. I had busted capacitors, which meant that these capacitors were losing charge, and if they lost charge, I'd freeze up or reboot.

That meant we had to do lots of research. It was time for me to get a new motherboard. We realized that there were no motherboards that supported my current processor, so that meant we need to get a new processor too. We also realized that I needed to get new RAM because the ram I have now is not campatible with the new board. And my video card? It's an older one, and most new motherboards don't support AGP. They're all coming out with PCI-Express these days. So instead of hunting around for a board with AGP, which we figured would limit me in the long run if I wanted to upgrade in the future, we decided to go for PCI-Express, which meant a new videocard. I'll be getting an AMD Athlon 3200+, DDR Ram, and a Geforce 6800 GS, which is quite the jump from the Athlon 1700+ and Geforce 4MX that I currently have. Whew! At least this way I won't have limited myself into a corner with already outdated technology that is hardly supported anymore.

So, I hope Christmas has all been good for you. My sister is coming tonight as she couldn't make it for Christmas Day and we'll be having another round of present opening for her.

I got lots of neat stuff, most of them being books. Is that really surprising? I got clothes, more clothes, and yet more clothes. Oh yeah, and chocolate. Got some reindeer droppings (chocolate covered almonds).

As for books?:
Harry Potter And the Blood Prince
Deception Point by Dan Brown
Science-Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1 1929-1960 (Collection of sci-fi novellas by different established sci-fi authors)

I didn't get any music this time, but I'll be using some of my spending money on some albums that I want to get.

Here are some pictures of my new case:

Observations and stuff

I haven't posted in quite a bit and I'm sure those of you who read this are wondering. Well, my computer is out of commission for the time being and I'm using my Dad's computer to post this. It doesn't sound too good and smells like burning sillicon. My computer that is, not his.

So, I've done all my Christmas shopping and started in mid-November to beat the rush. I'm pretty happy with what I've got for the others in my family.I'm also glad that I don't have to shop at the last minute. Man, if there's one thing about Christmas, it's the shopping and seeing all the tacky stuff out there on the shelves. I mean, I do love Christmas, but sometimes I think the commercialization of it has just gone overboard! As cute as those light-up dolls are, who would actually buy such a thing? They would get more than quickly annoying in this household, and don't remind me of those talking santas. Yeesh. Great for storefronts, but an actual household?

You know, all these drug commercials on TV are getting annoying. Most of them are really bad and a lot of them jump at claims. It's just as bad as the cigarette commercials when they were allowed on TV. Why is this on TV? Honestly? I'm honestly concerned, considering that most than half of these are drugs made up for a niche, where they make up syndrome names just to sell the drug, and then of course, you have people on the commercial asking how they got these drugs, the person with the drug commenting that their doctor gave them a prescription. Well, no kidding! You honestly think that with all those side-effects, that they would have these over the counter? Goodness. So many side-effects that you need other drugs to counter them. Why should it be the concern of the patient which drug they get? Obviously, if your doctor knows how to make a well informed decision and give you the best prescription for you, they wouldn't rely on you to see a certain commercial and have you ask about it. If you have to ask about it, it's probably not the right drug for you!

Speaking of side-effects, this summer I had drugs given to me by my doctor. This was to clear something out of my system and the doctor had told me to take 2 per day for 5 days. Well, around the 3rd day, I knew something was wrong. This was basically a real nightmare for me. I started having side-effects, and before I knew it, I pretty much had all listed side-effects. This included being manic-depressive and obsessive compulsive. That's right. Those drugs that were given to me were seriously changing the chemical makeup of my brain while I was under its influence. Not to mention that these were extended release tablets! So, I was stuck with its effects for more than 2 weeks while I waited for them to draw out of my system. All during that time, I didn't feel like myself. I didn't know what was going on and I was pretty much out of it. Had trouble sleeping, kept worrying about little things I knew I shouldn't worry about but couldn't do anything about it, had trouble breathing, and could hardly focus on doing anything, like watch TV for instance. Boy, was I ever glad when I was back to feeling normal! Turns out it was too big a dosage for my system to take, and ever since then I've wanted to be careful about what kind of stuff I put into my system. I'd rather find something natural and try that first before using drugs. They should be something of a last alternative.

Anyway, with my computer out of commission, I'm not sure when I'll get to post next. But I do have to post what I'm now reading as I've finished The High Crusade. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all that in case I don't get to post more before Christmas.