Reflections

My site has been out of action for some weeks, while I have been undergoing a Meldrewish series of problems.  I had to cut down on the costs of this site.  I found a very reasonable hosting company, Krystal Hosting, and already they have proved that cheapness doesn’t necessarily mean poor service.

The next thing was to transfer my two domain names over to this site.  It turns out that one of the companies holding my domain names wouldn’t let me transfer the name without paying them an extortionate amount of money; the other said that as I had let the name expire (two days before) I would have to renew for a year before they would let me transfer it away from them.  Right.  Thanks, Xcalibre.

So in the end I used a different couple of domain names, and here I am, up and running, strugging to try to update the site and correct all the things that have gone wrong. 

I previously had pages called ‘Reflections’, and didn’t really think of them as a blog – but that is indeed what they were.  The trouble was, the blogging had to be done in hard HTML, and the effort in doing that tended to make the whole thing too much trouble.   So I have got some free blogging software, and we will see how this format goes. 

I have included the contents of the old blog here.  It was interesting reading those.  Things don’t change much.  I still have to alter my registry in order to renew PcCillin.  You’d think that by now they would have fixed that problem, but copy protection comes before customer satisfaction, it seems.  Shame, because I have always liked the actual program.   Although, having said that, this version has proved to have the annoying habit of constantly putting pop-ups on the screen, which have to be cancelled.  Not sure at the moment how to stop that; I must have a look after I’ve got my site working.  So much to do.

Anyway, it gives me some satisfaction that being able to type straight on the page will allow me to be as boring, pedantic and loquacious as I like.  How lucky you are!

“… and time is certainly something the Hoover Dam has stood the test of.”

                              – Secrets of Dams, Sky Travel, 23rd December, 2003 

Following a computer crash on Friday I’ve spent an interesting time trying to preserve my installation and get Windows running again.  The most necessary thing to do was to run PcCillin in case I had been attacked by a virus.  I tried to do so during the crash, but it froze not long after beginning a scan.  After that I couldn’t get into Windows at all.
Now I’m fortunate enough to have three hard drives, so it occurred to me that if I installed Windows on my ‘D’ drive I would be able to run PcCillin from the ‘C’ drive just to establish whether or not a virus was present.

Of course, the time came during the installation of Windows when it suddenly struck me that I’d lost my Licence Key.  It had been stuck on the back of my original computer, but two computers later it had vanished without trace.

So after an arduous but fruitless search of the house, I phoned up Microsoft, only to be told that I would have to ring again on Monday before I could be given the number.  So my computer sat unused on my desk for the weekend, while my Hotmail junk folder expanded.

On Monday I phoned, and everything seemed to be going well, until they told me I would have to wait to be called back, some time within the next twenty-four hours.  This is apparently a method they use to try to ensure that the person doing the phoning is the real owner.  I was called back late Monday afternoon, and again everything seemed to be going well, until I was told that I had the wrong type of Windows XP.  I had gone, some time ago, into my local computer shop and had asked for XP, had been given a disk and had paid what at the time had seemed to be an extortionate sum.  But it now appeared that what I had been given was the OEM version of Windows which was designed to be put onto new computers.  Microsoft would not give me the Licence Key and the only option I had was to buy XP again (the original XP had been bought years ago, and I had no proof of purchase).

I felt it was interesting that although Microsoft told me the shop was at fault for selling me a version of Windows it was not entitled to sell, they were not at all interested in following this up, and did not ask anything about the shop.  I suppose from their point of view they were being paid twice for the same item, so it was all hunky-dory.  However, it could be seen by the uncharitable that they were tacitly encouraging this kind of thing.

So I went to another computer shop, a little further away, and bought a copy of XP – the proper version this time which cost well over twice as much as the sum I had thought extortionate.

By now I was not too happy with Microsoft, and decided to get a Linux implementation to put on my ‘D’ drive, so that I could wean myself away from the Microsoft monopoly.  The version I got was Suse Linux which was a graphical implementation, and was reputed to be easy to install.  Mind you, for a program using open source, this was in my view quite expensive, although a lot less than Windows.

First of all I installed Windows on my ‘D’ drive.  When I tried to run my full copy of PcCillin, it told me I would have to register it, and when I did so it asked for the Serial Number.  With delight I realised that this was a number I actually had.  I entered it, and was then totally scuppered when it smirked to itself and told me I’d better come up with  the Licence Key as well.

I wrote to Trend, and fairly quickly received a letter from them with all the relevant details.  I entered them, and was then informed by PcCillin that although I thought it was a full version and had paid for it, it was quite sure that it was only a demo copy, and certainly had no intention of allowing itself to be registered.  At that point I gave up.

I reinstalled Windows on my ‘C’ drive without any trouble, although I did notice that it objected to some of my drivers, saying they did not have Microsoft certification, and therefore Microsoft were not liable for any problems that might occur.  Well, I suppose it was my fault really, for recklessly choosing to put on my computer such bizarre things as a Hewlett-Packard hp 1005 print driver.

Windows now runs, although when I boot up I do get an initial screen, doubtless the result of earlier abortive attempts at installation, which asks me whether I wish to run Microsoft Windows XP (Home Edition), Microsoft Windows XP (Home Edition) or Microsoft Windows XP (Home Edition).

Then the time came to install Linux.  Now, I thought, all the problems would be behind me, and things would be simple and straightforward.  I began the installation, and the first thing I saw was a screen asking me what kind of installation I required.  One of the options was ‘Installation with APIC’.  I looked in the manual, but unfortunately APIC wasn’t in the index or in the glossary, so I suppose I will remain ignorant.  I chose the simplest option, and things worked for a short time before I was informed that I didn’t have any hard drives, and everything ground to a halt.

I have two arrays, working with a Promise Raid controller.  This is a fairly common thing, as it came as a standard with my MSI motherboard.  But for Suse Linux it appears to be a major issue.  There is a page of hints on their website, but none of them seemed to cover the actual controller I had.  It seemed though that one could get drivers from the Promise website which, with a great deal of complication, one could load during the install.  Unfortunately the website didn’t seem to have the drivers I required, and referred me to the website of the motherboard manufacturer.  They don’t seem to have any drivers at all.

That is where things stand at the moment.

Linux is not working.  Windows more-or-less works, although not as well as before.  Word will suddenly start printing random letters in response to my keypresses, and the computer has to be rebooted before it will work again.  Internet Explorer has the same problem it’s had for some years now (indeed, I think it began when my operating system was ME) where it reverts to small text whenever it starts.  And now Windows won’t close down by itself.  Undoubtedly Microsoft would tell me that despite the fact that so far there’s hardly anything installed on this implementation, the problem is all my own fault for choosing to run software not approved by them.  It strikes me as a curious way of doing business for a company to release an operating system claiming it to be reliable, but then telling its customers it will only work properly if they constrain themselves to using a small amount of the software available.  In other words, for Microsoft, ‘reliability’ seems to be only a relative term.

It also strikes me as curious when genuine paying customers are unable to use software when it’s needed because of copy protection.  Perhaps if the manufacturers lowered their prices a little, such stringent copy protection wouldn’t be necessary, and their paying customers could use their software when they needed to.  A revolutionary idea, I know.

So far my computer has remained on my desk, rather than in the fish pond, but it’s only a matter of time, I feel.

My website has suffered a great deal of neglect lately, and this section in particular. Swapping from one host to another caused all kinds of problems and, although I am very happy with the host I have got (United Hosting – they answer your emails literally within hours) the actual change caused difficulties which are not yet over. And life has been hectic lately. Even so, it’s difficult to believe that most of the year has passed before I have managed to get the 2003 page up.Hopefully I will be able to create a few entries before it’s time to create the 2004 page

***

There is a very moving TV ad for the NSPCC that features a genuinely distressed child. After seeing it a few times, a question occurred to me. How did they distress the child, and how long did they need to keep it distressed while they went through several ‘takes’?

The question might not have occurred to me, had I not, many years ago, had occasion to ring them up one night to report the physical abuse of a child. They were not interested, and referred me to my local social services department.

This is a popular charity, probably because all of us are affected by cruelty to children. But I wonder how much they have spent on this advertising campaign, which has been pretty ubiquitous.

It might be that my experience with them has generally soured me towards them, but I can’t help wondering whether there are more deserving charities, that don’t spend vast sums on TV advertising, that actually do what they purport to do and that don’t upset children to put over the message that children should not be abused.

***

Back to my hobby-horse – the mis-use of words on television. This seems especially to happen to musical terms; I don’t know why.

A recent news report on the fighting in Iraq said that ‘the battle got off to a staccato start’. Now staccato means ‘detached’. In music, staccato notes are short and separated from each other. I couldn’t see any way this could be applied to fighting, but eventually realised that what the commentator meant to say was ‘sporadic’.

I imagine that the sounds of the battle brought to mind descriptions of ‘staccato gunfire’ which one sometimes hears. Of course, in that context the term is quite correct, but the commentator must have misunderstood the description, and applied the term without really understanding what it means.

In the same way, people use the musical term ‘crescendo’ (literally ‘growing’) to mean ‘climax’ – exactly (as Douglas Adams might have said) what it isn’t.

***

“They will join the extra a hundred and fifty thousand troops …”

                              - BBC News, 2nd July 2003

“Not a wealthy man, this was the grandest house his family had ever lived in.”

                              – BBC Programme on the Brontés

“Shootings, as we are all becoming familiar, are on the increase

                               – BBC London News, 24th June

“Having spent all week in a dusty hangar with sweaty men, his wife and kids arrive.“

                              – A Very British UFO Hoax, Channel 4, 7th October

How is it possible, you might ask, to get through 60 years of life without ever contracting chicken pox?  Especially when both your children came down with it?

Believe me, it’s possible.

Last year I suffered from glue ear.

Is this what they mean by ‘a second childhood’?

I am unwell at the moment, and as a result I have been  spending a fair amount of time wading through the mindless drivel which passes for most TV entertainment these days.

I ended up watching Chris Tarrant’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire? – the best choice available.  For those who haven’t seen the show, contestants are asked a series of multiple choice questions, starting with £100 for a correct answer, and doubling the prize every question, until after some 13 questions (I can’t be bothered to do the arithmetic) they end up with £1 million.

If they are stuck on a question they have a number of options, including asking the audience to vote on the correct choice.  This was an anniversary edition, so not only were the audience answering, but the TV audience could also ring a number to register their vote.

This particular question involved cards, and was something like, “In which card game do you use the whole pack, and bid on the number of tricks you will gain?”  I can’t guarantee the wording, because my knowledge of card games is almost non-existent.  The four choices were (a) Bridge (b) Beggar My Neighbour (c) Snap (d) Cheat.

Now out of those, the only one familiar to me was Snap, with which I bored my parents as a child and was bored in turn when time came round.  For those who don’t know it you divide the pack, and then put down alternate cards.  As soon as the same number is laid down twice (two sevens for example) the first person to shout ‘Snap!’ wins the cards that have been put down.  Most parents must be familiar with the fine line to be drawn between letting the child win and not making it obvious.

Now this question was a matter of fact – there was no opinion involved.  So it’s only natural to assume that everyone who answered was absolutely sure of the correctness of their answer.  After all, if you didn’t know the answer there was absolutely no reason to vote.

How was it then that 5% of the respondents voted for Snap?  One person in twenty thought that in the game of Snap you bid on the number of tricks you will acquire.

I’m just trying to imagine the thought processes that went into their vote.  “Oh, I know that, it’s easy.  It’s Snap, isn’t it?  I remember sitting at my mother’s knee bidding on my tricks.”

Is this what happens to people when they watch ‘reality TV’?

Oh, and for those who know as little about card games as I do, the correct answer was Bridge.

I notice in a Commons debate about Iraq that Tony Blair used the word ‘nucular’ – exactly the same quaint pronunciation that George Bush gives the word.

I wonder who is brainwashing whom?

It was an interesting day yesterday. In the afternoon there was the Environment Fair, an annual event held in the grounds of South Hill Park, which this year included such diverse things as gymnastics teams and sheepdogs herding geese. And then in the evening I had the pleasure of watching Maddy Prior singing with the Carnival Band at the Wilde Theatre. It was lovely to hear that voice again, and the whole experience was a memorable one. After all, where else could you hear a shawm expertly playing jazz riffs?

The main impression of Maddy Prior was one of boundless energy. She belongs to two bands, and is also doing a reunion tour with Steeleye Span. All these bands have a full schedule. Then, at the event, we were handed a questionnaire about residential courses she is planning in a farmhouse in the Scottish borders. She is also going on a gruelling dog trek, which will be a sponsored event for charity.

After watching an energetic first half I left the auditorium to get a coffee, and by the time I got to the foyer, there was Maddy behind a table selling raffle tickets for charity!

I sometimes suspect that people like this are not really human – but on the other hand who could object to alien invaders who sing so sweetly?

I see from the News this evening that some parents in Reading are to have their daughter microchipped.  Interviews with other parents indicated that this would be a popular idea.

Clearly this is a reaction to the tragic deaths of the two schoolgirls in Soham.

However, it’s worth reflecting on the statistics.  The chances of an individual child being abducted and harmed is extremely low.  That is no consolation to the parents who have to face this awful situation, but it doesn’t alter the fact that statistically it is very rare.  There are a lot of people around, and something that is 56-million-to-one-against will happen to someone in this country because there are 56 million of us.  Indeed, someone was struck by a meteorite a couple of weeks ago.  No, in fact a far greater danger to the child comes from another source entirely.  Its parents.  Every year in this country between 70 and 80 children are killed by their parents.

Unfortunately having a child microchipped is not going to protect it from that particular danger.

This evening we missed Neighbours again because of newly-breaking developments in the case of the two missing schoolgirls.

Everybody is concerned about the case, and we all hope the girls are found alive – although I was never as optimistic about this as the police seemed to be.  But the fact was that the BBC1 news report consisted of nothing other than the information that two people had been questioned, and their house and the school grounds were being searched.  This was information that could have been imparted in thirty seconds – instead we had twenty-five minutes of utter nonsense.

We had a reporter standing in front of an apparently-empty house informing us that the police were currently searching it.  “It’s a scene of ever-moving activity,” he told us, contradicting the evidence of our eyes.  A little while later we had another reporter standing in front of the same house, telling us it wasn’t to be searched for another twenty minutes, and that currently it was empty.

There were exchanges like the following:  “What is the real significance of this development?”  “It’s difficult to say.”

At last they finished.  But then we had the six o’clock news, and they went through the whole thing again.  It was in my view a tasteless and unnecessary exercise, full of inaccuracy and intrusion.

In my son’s view, the current news broadcasts sound as though they have been written by a fifteen-year-old.

This view was confirmed when we heard a following item about the asteroid which is currently coming uncomfortably close.  The first sentence of the news report described it as “an asteroid which is orbiting the Earth”.