computers, LEAFs, particles, and more

This should probably have been several long posts, instead of one abbreviated one, but I've let too much slip past.

1. We went to LEAF last weekend. LEAF = Lake Eden Arts Festival, in Black Mountain NC. Mel went down Thursday night, the kids and I went down Friday night. We stayed till Sunday afternoon. What a great time it is out there. The whole place has a really good vibe. We stayed up late, slept very little, and I was up before dawn with camera and tripod, photographing. It's one of those experiences you wish could last much longer than it does. Music from 8am to 1am, tons of talented artisans, lots of down-to-earth humans. I recommend all try to attend. Order tickets online, well in advance... Saturday was sold out before the gates even opened. http://www.theleaf.com Many photos are forthcoming. :)
   
   
2. What I learned when formatting/reconstituting my computer:
   1. Microsoft provides insufficient information when you utilize it's built-in encryption on WindowsXP. Nowhere does it tell you that you have to back up the encryption key, buried somewhere in the documents and settings tree, if you want to rebuild your system and still have access to your files. Even with the same username/password, you can't get in if you lost that key. You also can't erase the locked files, no matter how many gigabytes they are taking up. It was quite irritating.
   2. While getting all your editing software installed and running is indeed worthy of celebration, celebrating by editing a couple hundred photos BEFORE you realize that you didn't calibrate your monitor kind of tarnishes the hoorah. Especially when you realize black and white looks sepia. Lots of reediting. What fun.
   
   
   
3. What I learned when dealing with several tech support departments in the last week regarding server hardware: All tech support departments will resort to recommending you reinstall the product by the 5th message in any given support thread, and reinstalling the OS by the 8th message.
   
   
4. Some of you have been around long enough to remember the bathroom project ( 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ). It looks like I may be getting to do another. Some source of water has been soaking from Lorelei's bathroom into her bedroom floor under the foam carpet padding. The particle board floor is now mostly particle, and very little board. Mass replacement of flooring and possibly fixtures is due to occur in the near future. Donations of beer, acetaminophen, and backrubs gratefully accepted.
   
   
5. Storm has the strep. I will likely be working from home tomorrow, to the extent possible. Mel stayed with her today.
   
   
6. Went to the circus with shirokarasu and kids. It was a badly needed outing, with suitably lighthearted content. My brain hasn't been all that happy lately and I needed a break. Lots of pics coming from that event too.
   
   
7. The cops were at my neighbors again, this time something to do with her daughter. Must be weird, needing to call the cops all the time just to manage your personal life. But this seems to be how she deals with things. Ever think that maybe, if you need to call the cops all the time, there might be something wrong with the decisions you're making?
   
   
8. I was going to build a new PC for photo editing. I was saving up the bucks. My car found out about it however, and ate all the money. My consolation prize was a Samsung YP-T10 (mp3/video/text reader/recorder/fm/thingie). I also got a couple pairs of Sennheiser headphones (PX100 for walking around, HD202's for the office) off of Ebay for Cheap and they sound much better than the stock 'phones, or anything you're likely to buy at MalWart either.
   
   
9. There is no 9th thing.
   
   
10. Photo posts are imminent.

Not bad for handheld!

No IS either.