Sleeping? No,no,no - I Was Just Thinking. With My Eyes Closed.

What have I been doing?!

My dear readers: please pardon my lapse, of - how long has it been - 4 months almost since my last blog post? Unforgivable! And yet you all stayed. Bless you.

Now, most of you know me from my Etsy store. So, you are aware that although I haven't been active here on my blog, that I have been a busy little bee sewing away, adding new items to my shop, and mailing them all over the country. November in fact was pretty good for me, and I'm hoping December will be just as successful.

It is somewhat late in the evening as I write this, so I will keep it short. It's more of a 'Hello' to all of you out there, and to let you know this blog has NOT been abandoned. I have major plans for it in the very near future.

In the meantime, keep up with the day to day minutiae of moddyboy80 on Twitter where I post nearly every day, (often several times a day in fact) But do keep an eye here as well. Fun is on the way!

Back On Track - No More Bugs!

Hello there again: Well, it has been quite some time since I have written anything new here, due in part to my computer problems, which are now pretty much solved. Except for a short piece I'll be writing soon to help those who may be experiencing similar issues, I can promise you that I will not be mentioning them again. If I feel the need, then the answer may be to start a separate blog dealing solely with my adventures in the world of computing!

I can be quite single minded sometimes, and become obsessed with a subject when the need arises, and thus have not added anything new to my Etsy shop since May. Instead, everyday was spent researching, poking around computer forums online, and studying manuals offline in local brick and mortar bookstores. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Between Google, Barnes&Noble, and Borders, one can learn just about anything! (Sorry local library, but I found your selection of books on this particular subject to be sadly lacking...)

So, now that things are pretty much back to normal for me, what's next? I have so many great ideas for upcoming art projects, that I could stop thinking now, and never run out of material. I wish I could say I have all my ideas neatly filed, sorted, and stored away in notebooks and such, but most of them entail hastily scribbled text and drawings on the back of receipts, cocktail napkins and other scraps of paper strewn about my little workstation here,(much to the wife's chagrin).

The state I'm in now, I'm not going to promise one particular thing or another. I get bored very easily and will often leave projects three quarters of the way done before abandoning them and moving on to something completely different. A bad habit, I know! I am simply going to work, work, work, and chip away at something - everything - and just put stuff up as it gets finished. Whatever it turns out to be, I know it will turn out to be something fun!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these pictures that I took a few months back while visiting the 23rd Annual Bug Fair in Los Angeles, CA at the Natural History Museum. When I saw Huell Howser's enthusiastic piece about the bug show on PBS the week before, I knew I had to go and experience it in person. I grew up with a great fear of insects you see, and decided it was time I forced myself to get over it. What better way than to hold a live tarantula in my hand and pet it like any other household pet? I did draw the line at the scorpion however. I got close to it, but chose not to actually touch it. Perhaps next year?

Ubuntu Linux Blank Tan Screen - A Solution!

Note: Feel free to skip ahead to the important part, the actual code, which I've highlighted in red below.


Success!

After almost two months of struggling with my computer after a nasty bit of malware infected its innards, I finally got the damn thing to work again last night.

If you haven't read my earlier rants here and on Twitter, then this(in a nutshell) is what happened: (And bear in mind that when this whole thing started, I had not even the slightest inkling of how a modern desktop computer works!)

Got the malware (Trojan actually; though I refered to it as a virus before I knew the difference) on May 29th. It wreaked havoc with my system, which at the time was running Windows XP. I tried every solution offered to me, but no anti-virus or anti-malware program would touch it. I tried the system restore function. That didn't work. Even a re-install of Windows failed.

I had the idea to just wipe the hard drive altogether - and indeed THAT got rid of the malware - along with my Windows XP operating system! But I was prepared.

I would install the free, Ubuntu Linux operating system I had heard so much about. My problem at this point was that every copy of Ubuntu I came across was on a DVD, and due to the age of my computer,(as well as the fact that I can be...careful with my money...) I only had a CD-ROM on my old Dell computer. A DVD wouldn't work in it.

Finally though I did find a copy of Ubuntu 8.10 on a CD-ROM that came with a magazine. Ace! So, I went about installing it onto my hard drive, wiping away the malware and Windows along with it. Don't let the door hit you on your way out, I sniggered...

But,...wait! What's this?! After the Ubuntu login screen, when I entered my username and password, I was met with a blank, tan screen. I waited. Nothing was happening. The little white arrow cursor was there, and I could move it around, but nothing else, including my keyboard would work. The little LED that shows your hard drive is working stopped dead too. Unless you have been through this yourself, you cannot begin to understand just how infuriating it was. I was confused, angry,... then sad and depressed. My wife said she has never seen me look so defeated.

Over the next few days, I went online whenever, and wherever possible, researching my problem. All I found were forum responses to people with similar problems telling them their computer didn't have enough RAM to run Ubuntu, and that they should try a lighter version of LINUX instead, like Xubuntu, Puppy Linux, or Damn Small Linux. People with systems so low on RAM had no business trying to run Ubuntu apparently.

Embarrassed, I slunk away from the Ubuntu fora, with my 256MB of RAM, put down the Ubuntu Bible, and decided Damn Small Linux was the answer. After all, the entire operating system can fit onto a USB flash drive!

Yes, thought I...I will try this DSL!

Another problem however was where to get it from. Yes, yes...you can download it online. However, one needs a computer with the ability to burn a CD or DVD, and since I was stuck using public computers, I didn't have that ability. But you can download a bootable version on a flash drive, I hear you say. Again, yes you can. But if your computer doesn't support booting from a flash drive, (as mine doesn't) well then,...you're out of luck again! I did find a great book however, The Official Damn Small Linux, (ISBN: 0132338696) and it comes with a bootable CD-ROM. Perfect! Only problem, (for me anyway) was the lack of availability in brick and mortar shops,(actual bookstores you can walk into) and the fact that when I did find copies of it, that the pricing was all over the place. Seriously, I have never seen such a descrepancy in pricing on a book in my life. I saw three different prices in three different bookstores: $39.99, $44.99, and $49.99! I should have just gotten the first one I saw at $39.99. Oh well, you live and you learn.

I decided that I would simply order the book from Amazon.com, as I discovered in my research that even if I got the CD-ROM, and got the operating system installed and working on my computer, that I wouldn't be able to get online with the type of modem I have, so I would have to purchase a new one. Yes, I am that guy, still on dial-up. And the modem in my Dell is a winmodem. It's basically a software modem, designed to work exclusively with Windows, as opposed to an external hardware modem that will work with anything, including Linux. So, this week, after a less than fruitful visit to Fry's Electronics, (you should have seen the reaction I got when I asked a sales person if they had any serial modems! It was as if I was asking for stone knives and bear skins...) I decided to scrounge together a few bucks and order both my modem and that Damn Small Linux book from Amazon.

Sixty bucks though....my whole intention was to get my computer running again for as little money as possible, since there was really nothing wrong with the actual hardware. Damn my penny piching ways! Anyway,...something kept nagging away at my brain the whole time. Why wasn't Ubuntu working on my computer? I had done a memory test before installing it and checked the CD for defects, and everything checked out fine. It was just hanging at that tan screen after logging in. Also, other people with the same problem that I came across online had way more RAM than I did, so that was not the problem, was it?

I immerssed myself with research again. Spent a lot of time seperating the wheat from the chaff as they say; weeding out the garbage. For I saw many different solutions offered for the same problem. I made a list, writing down everything I came across. And I started to see a pattern. When I saw the same solution being offered on different sites, and a lot of positive comments from people saying that they had been struggling with this for ages and now their problems were solved, (and their monitors working again) I knew I just had to try it.

I wrote down these instructions and few lines of code:

1. After powering on your computer, hit the ESC key before everything loads. This brings you into what's called the GRUB boot menu. You'll see a short list of options. Using your arrow keys, select recovery mode option. Hit ENTER.
2. The select: "Root Drop to root shell prompt" (And I think at this point you'll see a bunch of 'gobbledygook' fill your screen. Just wait til it's done. It will stop, and you'll see a line with 'your name-desktop' (Or, however you chose to name your computer when you first installed Ubuntu) and a $ This is called the prompt.
3. Just type in the following lines of code, hitting enter after each line: sudo apt-get remove compiz
4. Hit enter and you will be asked a Yes/no question, asking if you really want to remove compiz? Just type a Y and hit ENTER.
5. The type sudo apt-get remove compiz-core
6. Hit ENTER, and you'll be asked the Y/n question again. Just type Y and hit enter.
7. Then, just type the word exit and hit ENTER.
8. Lastly, select the option Resume Normal Boot.

And guess what? That is it. Once I had the time to spend later that evening, I turned on my computer, and entered the code and did just as instructed...and voila! It worked! I got past the login screen and I had a fully functioning desktop again!! Yay! And after two months of heartache, my computer is once again amongst the living, thanks to literally 2 lines of code.

I'm sorry to have gone on a bit again. But I just had to get this all off of my chest. And hopefully, this will help anyone else out there who is suffering as I have been, wanting so bad to try out Ubuntu 8.10, but running into that same roadblock. Try those simple instructions. It works!

(Why does it work? Well, compiz serves up some special effects which some graphics cards can't handle. Getting rid of compiz from your Ubuntu installation solves the blank tan screen problem. You can always reinstall it later if you get a new graphics card and feel you need to.)

Now,...I'm off to figure out if I can get a driver for my winmodem so I can get online again without having to trek to the library!

And you thought you had computer problems?

What follows is a rant, unedited, each word spewed forth from an angry heart as it came to me. So please forgive the occasional misspelling and/or incorrect grammer as I ran out of patience a while ago and simply need to vent.

Where to begin? Well, if you have been following my Tweets on Twitter the last month, then you will be quite familier with the woes that have plagued me and my computer recently.

All was humming along nicely before that; in fact I was quite proud of my little Dell running Windows XP for the past 4 years. Never had any kind of issues with it. No crashes. No blue screen of death that I always hear about. Ran quite fast as well, considering it is a bare bones system with only 256mb of RAM, with only 1 hard drive and 1 CD-ROM drive that I can't even burn a CD with. Well,...it was fast enough for me anyway, and served its purpose. Had my iTunes on it, ran Audacity on it which allowed me to record my own little songs as they came into my head, mutitracking and layering musical instruments all without a hitch...And I was able to make a tiny bit of an income with it too, first by emptying my closets onto eBay, and then by opening my little Etsy shop where I have been selling my little hand made fridge magnets since October of 2008. Again: never a hiccup along the way.

That is until 29th of May 2009. That is when my little world started to come crashing down.

In the middle of my browsing the internet, a virus scan started. At the end, I was informed that my computer was infected by a trojan, and that my virus protection suite of programs (which I paid a lot for by the way) was unable to do anything about it. I tried everything from quarrantine to deleting files. Nothing would get rid of it. I am still stumped as to how I got this thing. The only sites I had visited that morning were Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. (However, with the further reading and research I do, the more I see how vulnerable my computer had actually become over the years. So, it is no surprise now that it happened. In fact it is surprising that it didn't happen a long time before. Would have been nice to have been warned. Basically, 'regular' people (ie, non-techies) are expected to just know... by what,...? Osmosis? That there are things that need to be constantly updated, that scripting should be disabled? I didn't even know what the hell scripts, and Active X controls were before this happened!

As the day wore on, the malware infecting my computer seemed to grow in strength and actually get... smarter.

Settings on the computer were being changed right before my eyes, and I was blocked from tryig to set them back. My virus protection was turned off. And the little radio button you click to turn it back on? The BUTTON was gone! Insert vile expletive here. Not only that, but my internet connection was no longer working either.

Using a public computer at the library, I studied up on this thing. Visited and read online forums. Asked many people online for their help and advice. Everyone was very nice and I got immediate answers and encouragement from everyone. Thanks by the way to all of you who may be reading this. There are many more good and nice people out there, than there are creeps and villians I have come to realize. You guys rock!

I followed the advice to try things like Malware Bytes, and other virus and trojan removers. I visited Microsoft and downloaded their malicious software removal tool. I literally tried everything. Many times. I made sure I kept my computer not only turned off in between these attempts, but also unplugged. (I've read that even if the computer is off, that if it's plugged in, the malware can use that power to continue to work its nastiness. Don't know if that is exactly true or not, but I wasn't taking any chances!) Did everything in safe mode as advised too.

The few times I rebooted my computer normally, it seemed the malware had gotten worse. I've read that people who have this particular trojan, have had their keyboards and mouse stop working, and eventually their display stops working as well. It seems this malware is just intent on destroying a persons computer, and turning it into a fancy paperweight.

With all my ham fisted attempts at a fix failing, I decided the only thing left to do was a system restore.
I saved all my pictures to a flash drive,(thumb drive, USB stick,...whatever you want to call it.) and followed the instructions to restore my system to a previous date. Guess what? THAT didn't work. I tried a myriad of dates over and over again, and got the same error message each time when rebooting: Unable to restore system. No changes have been made to this computer. More research online, and at the bookstore revealed that a virus or trojan can infect your PC's restore points as well. So, even if you are able to restore the system to a date previous to your getting infected, the virus or malware goes right along with it. Nice huh? Anway,...

Now, I was at the point where simply reinstalling Windows seemed to be my only option. Besides my pictures, my songs were the only things precious enough to me to save, and thank God I have those saved a long time ago on a seperate detachable hard drive that (I hope!) was unaffected by the malware. If only reinstalling Windows was that easy...

Dell Computers in their infinite wisdom, chooses not to provide an actual reinstall disk with the computers you purchase from them. Even though technically, you have paid for that copy of Windows. I found a little paper card in place of the CD instead, that says you don't need a re install CD, because it's on the hard drive! Yay! Great, if you can get to it I thought, but this malware had erased my computers instruction manual as well. Wow.

Well,...I'll just call Dell. They will happily send me an actual disk with Windows XP on it. Again, I paid for it right? I got all the numbers and codes I was required to get off of the back of my computer and called Dell. Guess what? They refused to send me a reinstall disk, even after I explained my woes in great detail, (and nicely in a calm tone I might add.)

I was REALLY ready to take a sledge hammer to the thing after this, but instead went back to researching online and in the bookstores.

After that, I was able to locate the folder containing the reinstall thingy on my computer. Finally, I thought: This is going to work! I followed the instructions to the letter. And guess what? Do I really need to tell you? Didn't work. I tried several more times. Did more research and tried again. Nothing. No success whatsoever.

My only option left at this point was to try installing another, different operating system. I knew of Linux just from seeing all the books and magazines about it at the bookstore. Then I read about Ubuntu, which seemed like it would save my little computer from becoming that paperweight.

I mentioned before that my computer only has a CD-ROM drive. No DVD drive, and I can't burn a CD. So, that meant I couldn't use the many DVD's containing Ubuntu that come with magazines urging 'regular people' (like me) to try Ubuntu out. There is always the option of going online and downloading the Ubuntu operating system and then burning it onto a CD that you can then boot from and install it that way,...but remember: the malware on my computer prevented me from even getting online. And then there was that pesky little fact of not having the ability to burn a CD even. What to do? What to do?

I am not one to give up. So I read and researched some more.

In my case, I was unable to even load Ubuntu onto a flash drive. Public computers are often kept kept under lock and key, so all I have access to is the screen, keyboard and mouse when using them.

Finally,...Finally! I found a magazine on Ubuntu that contained a Live CD, instead of the many versions I had seen on DVD's. A Live CD allows a user to try Ubuntu out first and see if they like it, by loading the operating system into your computers RAM. That way you still have Windows on your computer, your hard drive is unaffected, and when you are done trying out Ubuntu, you can simply power down your computer, remove the CD and basically it's gone. Not permanent. You get a taste of it, and then if you like it, you can install it from the CD onto your hard drive right alongside Windows, if you want, or even get rid of Windows all together and simply have an Ubuntu only OS running on your computer. Great! Fantastic! Can you guess the rest of my story?

If you have read this far, then kudos to you my friend. I know I am boring the hell out of all of you, but again, it just helps to vent.

Rest of the story, in a nutshell:

I loaded the Ubuntu Live CD into my computer. I did everything I was told to do. Went into the BIOS and changed the boot order so I could boot from the CD, performed a memory check, checked the CD for errors and defects... all with success. However, the CD failed to install into the pitiful amount of RAM that my computer has installed. Remember? 256MB of RAM. Ubuntu recommends 512MB at a minimum. I've read that having a computer with so little RAM is like getting a Corvette only to open the hood and find a Yugo engine inside.

But,...even if I couldn't run Ubuntu from the CD and my RAM, I could then at least install it onto my hard drive right? Well,...not so fast. I tried that. Tried partioning my drive using the recommended 'guided' approach that was suggested in the article I read on installing Ubuntu. I got an error message. Both times I tried it.

My very last option was to wipe Windows XP and EVERYTHING along with it from my hard drive and install Ubuntu as my ONLY operating system. I was assured it would work, even with the little amount of RAM I had though it would be slower. That would be fine. So that is what I did. Windows is now forever gone from my computer. I successfully installed the Ubuntu operating system onto my computer. Well, by 'successfully' I mean it installed. I get as far as the login screen, and it allows me to enter my username and password that I set up, and then unfortunately, I am met with a blank, tan screen, and a hard drive that stops working,(ie, the little light stops winking on and off) and it just sits there like that. Oh, and the keyboard doesn't work after that either. Yay! I've really killed it now!

More online research today reveals my problem to simply be the fact that my computer doesn't have enough RAM for Ubuntu to work. Even the lighter version known as Xubuntu will not work properly with as little as 256MB of RAM. At least that is what I have read in various forums online. Apparently, Ubuntu is as bloated an operating system as all the others. Don't get me wrong. I am still interested in trying it somewhere down the line. It's just not going to happen on my little old Dell with its 256MB of RAM. Which is sad really. Cause don't the Linux folks want people like me with sad, little old computers to be able to resurrect them? I am too poor at the moment to buy another computer. I will certainly not buy a Dell again, simply because of their lack of customer service. I cannot afford a MAC, though I would LOVE one. Sorry Apple, but you are for the rich folks, so...

When things get a little better, perhaps I will try building my own computer. For what I would spend on a Dell or other similar computer, I could put in quality parts and more RAM and a couple of hard drives and DVD drives and what not, and know exactly what I have and how it works. And I have heard that if you can hook up your DVD player to your TV, or hook up a set of stereo speakers, you can build a computer in a couple of hours.

So now, I am back at square one. I have a computer that is nothing more than an expensive papreweight sitting there on my desk. And no option now other than either buying more RAM from Dell(?) Not likely. Or, Calling Microsoft and begging them for a CD with Windows XP on it.

*sigh*

What a month!

Have You Seen My Etsy Shop Lately?

 

Shown here are the latest additions to my humble little Etsy shop. Now, I have been a fan of The Beatles ever since I can remember. I loved bragging to people at my last job, that The Beatles were still together when I was in school. (I was only in kindergarten when they broke up, but school never the less!) 

As I state in my description for this glass bead magnet set, The Beatles are the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place. I inherited my older sisters pile of LP's and Beatles records featured prominently in that collection. I would spend hour upon hour practicing to their records in my room. In high school, my good friend Timothy and I would sit on the wall of an ancient cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts and practice singing two part harmony to their songs. Our results varied of course; there were times our vocalizing would set the neighbourhood dogs to howling!

Though I do remember one time, as we all sat 'round the table at lunch...Timothy and I separately, and without one knowing what the other was even thinking, launched simultaneously into song ~ the same song AND line at that ~ both singing our respective 'John' and 'Paul' parts perfectly. The table fell completely silent as our friends continued with their lunches in wide eyed amazement. We were caught off guard as well, not only at how perfect it sounded, but by the sheer creepiness of having sung the same thing at the same time without any forethought whatsoever. Happy times!

So, yes: The Beatles certainly occupy a warm place in my heart. And that's why I chose to put this set of magnets together. I spent a lot of time perusing many photographs of them, trying to pick out some that were not only my favourites, but pictures that would look good together as well.  I think I succeeded. 

The second item you see here is another of my Felty Things fridge magnets. This time it is a representation of another bit of my childhood near and dear to me: the humble cassette tape, which in my day (and for many years after) was considered state of the art! 

You can see in the description I have for it in my shop, that I mention having spent many an afternoon wiling away the hours with my friends, recording little audio sci-fi epics, and writing nonsense songs on the piano. Yes, this was years before personal computers and video games. We had to use something called: An Imagination! Heck, we all still had dial telephones and black and white televisions! (I do sound like one old geezer now don't I ?)

Anyway, I still have shoe boxes filled with these ancient tapes. Little audio snippets of my childhood. A lot of it embarrassing,  some of it charming. I am glad to have saved them, for some of my friends are no longer with us.

So, there you go!

I mentioned in a previous post, that this month would see me attempt to add a new item to my Etsy shop at least every weekday. I knew I wouldn't be able to do that at this point; it was more a sort of self motivation to put that out there. But I'm happy to at least have created and listed a couple of new things this week. It gives me an enormous amount of self satisfaction, and spurs me on to do more.

Let's see what I can do next week, eh?

Etsy Treasury by CorrieBerryPie

Hey there everyone! Today was another stellar day.  Just look at this wonderful treasury put together by Etsy seller CorrieBerryPie. Yes, that's my scooter again! I am quite pleased to have been featured in this delightful little collection of handmade goods. 

You can visit this Etsy Treasury here, and comments are always welcome.

As always, be aware that Etsy Treasuries last for a very short time. This one expires Saturday.

Thanks again CorrieBerryPie!

Say goodbye to April, Hello May!

Good day all! This pencil drawing you're looking at is something I drew one day, way back in 1997. That year, I drew a lot of portraits like this using a simple #2 pencil. I was thumbing through an old sketchbook recently when I came across it. I'm still really proud of it all these years later.  Thinking maybe I should get back to drawing, which I have neglected in recent years. Maybe I could offer some for sale in my shop as well? 

Ah, my shop...that's been a bit neglected this past month. Can you believe tomorrow is May already?! Where does the time go? Except for a couple of renewals of expired items, I listed nothing new in my Etsy shop in April. Think I got a little distracted this month. I blame Twitter!

Oh well, May is a new month and I have so many plans. My goal is to try and challenge myself to come up with a new item and list it for sale in my shop every day. Well, Monday through Friday anyway. Weekends belong to my long suffering wife, God bless her! I need to take her out more.

Then there's this little ol' blog of mine. 

Some things to look forward to here: a podcast, so you'll get to hear what I sound like! I will try to talk about something interesting, I promise. I need to upload some of my music to my MySpace pages as well, and here on my blog. It's not doing any good sitting on my hard drive is it now? And I made a little video, nothing special mind you, but I really wanted to put something up on YouTube, so I grabbed my webcam and made a short little instructional piece for fun. Just trying to find the right music to add to the soundtrack.

So, stay tuned...

How about YOU?

Any special plans for the month of May?