Merry Christmas… belatedly!
Best wishes to all, even belatedly!
I have taken a few days off work and I have been in my PJs ever since. I mean, this is some serious cocooning which I needed to do. I have gathered several books, computer mags, photography mags, and the instruction manual of a new camera I got myself as a present and have been transfering from bed to couch and back for the past two days. This is no good for cardio exercise, but it does wonders to your peace of mind. I mean, REST is the name of these last few days!
Having said that, I did make the mistake of attempting to upgrade my main computer to Windows 7. What a disaster that was! Apparently, the much touted Windows 7 (‘do everything faster’) suffers from a lot of fatal issues that Microsoft has yet again “forgotten” to address.
The net result of all this was a DEAD computer — I mean dead as in “black screen – totally unresponsive” dead. I have experienced total crashes before, but this was the Mother of them all!
After a cumulative 11 hours of trying, I finally gave up and re-installed the much maligned Vista back on… and the computer works fine, only a little bit slower. There are mysteries involved here; and from what I see on user forums, which I took the time to visit after the disaster, these mysteries underlie a significant percentage of catastrophic upgrades and clean installs of this wunder OS.
Microsoft does it again! Thumbs up guys, thanks for wasting my time and ruining a perefectly set piece of equipment.
The weather here in Athens has been gloomy but temperatures are mild. My heating bill will also be mild!
I won’t even comment on the ongoing charade of the Papandreou “government.” They stumble from one fiasco to the next. I doubt they will survive past the half year 2010. Of course, the main sufferers are us, “average folk,” not the cartoons running this country. They are already padding their pockets with whatever they can lay their hands on. This is one sure way of getting “well off” in Hellas.
Back to the camera and the computer mags!
PeterD wrote,
Ah, the good ol’ days of Windows XP.
P.S. Demosthenes, you changed your blog theme . . . again. You change themes more often than I change mistresses.
Link | December 28th, 2009 at 00:36
Stavros wrote,
I also went through a difficult exercise updating to windows 7. It was losing battle and eventually my son discover a few tricks and he managed to update it. I have not tried working on it , yet. The Papandreu circus is at full throttle, pushing Hellas further and further down the abyss. One of his most urgent challenges to get us out of our economic woes was to draft a bill ( I hope it fails to pass) which will prove a pivotal point to regularize the millions of illegals and facilitate a more vigorous flow of aliens into our already cramped and bursting living space, Papandreu must be short staffed of Filipinos and Srilankans to spruce up his gardens and cleaning his swimming pool at his home. Somehow the so called economic crisis seems to have bypassed a few sectors and sections of our nation. I found restaurants and eating places rather full and ebullient with high spirited gastronomes. A friend of mine owns a few suvla places in and around Athens and he reported an increase in turnover ( since September) of 30%. Another friend who owns a plastic manufacturing workshop is however groaning and bemoaning the insufferable taxes has has been hit with, while another friend who is in fashion dress marketing and distribution complains bitterly that payment for the merchandises are not coming in at all. The saddest thing is that ,overall , Greeks seem or appear to be content with the election of their new executioners. I don’t know how many realize the only thing they have achieved with their electioneering opium is to change one crew of bungling brigands with another band of shameless thieves. Greeks are literally trapped in a two party system in a non functioning democratic and parliamentary system. The underscoring fundamentals of our political system is that since it is a dysfunctional framework of bureaucratic entropy , corrupt parliamentarians and political huckster of all shades there is no remedy but to soldier on, hopelessly, the way we are.The law of the jungles is back and is doing well in our land.
Link | December 28th, 2009 at 10:06
Demosthenes wrote,
My feelings exactly!
Link | December 28th, 2009 at 22:47
Demosthenes wrote,
Peter,
Change is good! Provides fresh look! I congratulate you on changing mistresses so often! I, for my part, have no such stamina (sigh) ….!
Link | December 28th, 2009 at 22:48
PeterD wrote,
I also went through a difficult exercise updating to windows 7.
It’s not worth the trouble—or risk—to upgrade. Because PCs are relatively inexpensive relative to Macs, if you really want the new operating system, you’re better off just getting it with the purchase of a new PC.
Change is good! Provides fresh look!
A few months back, you had chosen a blog theme colour very similar to the Financial Times pink paper. I really liked that one . . . . very pleasing to the eye.
I congratulate you on changing mistresses so often!
Like you said . . . change is good!
I, for my part, have no such stamina (sigh) ….!
Greek olives, Greek olive oil, and Greek tsai tou vounou . . . .
Full honest disclosure lest my wife is reading this: Unlike the idiot (jungle bunny) Tiger Woods, I’m no fool.
Link | December 29th, 2009 at 04:54