The Misadventures of Dan
Peer into the mind of Dan as he tries to build an MP3 Player for his PDA and searches for the next thing in his life be it an electrical engineering job or graduate school.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
.:3:42:16 PM:.
System Slow
One of the Windows 2000 computers at Future truck seemed pretty slow so I was asked to go check it out. Slow can mean multiple things: programs may take longer (than before) to load up, the desktop takes forever to clear, the Start button doesn't popup or show right away, and many other things, Internet Explorer is slow, etc.. Your computer esssentially can never go faster than it was first designed. So this is what I check for when I first look at any comp.
- Physical Free space on C:\, it doesn't matter if you added an extra 120gb harddrive but used up the primary drive (the one where C:\ is). You want to make sure you have at least 500 MB free (at least 10%)-you might want to consider uninstalling some programs and installing it on your other drive. Don't have another hard drive? You could go and buy one or do some deleting-more on that later.
- Free Memory: Windows is reknown for being a memory hog. Memory is used to temporarily store data, programs so that the computer can pull out information faster than pulling it off the harddrive-increased memory means increased potential space to store programs. I usually look at the processes running (Goto your Windows Task Manager and click on the 'Processes' tab. A quick check through the list to see if a) there are any programs that use relatively lots of memory (say most of them hover around 1,000K and all of a sudden there's a 10K) b) double programs-this doesn't mean its bad, it just MAY be a symptom.
- CPU Usage at "standstill". This is how much your compuer is 'working'. Unless you're doing rendering of 3d landscapes, compiling programs, your computer usually isn't really taxed with a huge workload. Programs running in the background can cause the computer to devote more processing time and less for your programs. Right click on the task bar (the grey bar the Start button is on) and select 'Task Manager'. There should be a few tabs for you to click on-click on the 'Performance' tab and check the CPU usage-if you don't have anything running CPU usage _should_ be below 20% (usually around 5%). If its above 75% you might want to see what kind of programs you have loading in the background.
- Defragmentation of the drive: Computers generally run faster if everything is in a logical order, for example if all the bits on a harddrive were all lined up, the drive spends less time searching for information (retrieving time should almost always be the same). You can check the defragmentation of your harddrive by Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to examine and wait a few minutes while the computer analyzes the drive. (Depending on the size of your harddrive and the speed of your computer it can take anywhere from a few minutes to 10+ minutes). In the case of the Windows Defragment program, red lines are BAD. Especially lots of red lines. This means that your data is scattered all over the place wasting space and time. To solve this just click on the defragment button and let the computer do its thing. This step will take anywhere from 20 minutes to more than a hour.
- Desktop clutter-this is often overlooked. Classic systems include taking a long time to minimize everything. You kind of generally want to limit yourself to two columns of icons. The general rule is that for programs: if you have a quicklaunch (the buttons to the immediate right of the 'Start button' you don't need that same shortcut on your desktop. If you use the file daily then you should keep it as a separate icon, if you use the file weekly, then a folder on the desktop might be better. If you don't use the program more than weekly than you should really use the start/launcher. The exceptions to this are 'My Documents', 'My Computer', 'My Network Places' , 'Recycle Bin' icons .
- Internet Explorer clutter: With the proliferation of broadband and internet, there are billions of webpages and some people feel like they have to index it all. That's what you have bookmarks for. Bookmarks should stay in Internet Explorer and not as shortcuts on the quicklaunch bar :P
- 'Cleaning up' your recycle bin by emptying it (right-click on the bin), clean out your cache (in Internet Explorer) Tools -> Internet Options -> 'General Tab' and then click on the 'Delete Files' button. The difference between cookies and files are that files are generally bits of webpages, pictures, and other media stored. Cookies are files that the computer generated from visiting a website-sometimes they contain your password, your preferences, what you last searched for etc.
Having done all that and if its still slow you may want to search the internet or e-mail me :)
Sunday, November 02, 2003
.:10:02:10 PM:.
Bad Template! Bad!!
I was working on tweaking a few things around on the website-I realized that the index to the weblog was still using an old stylesheet so I had to change it. I loaded up Dreamweaver and was surprised when I found out the template wasn't properly linked to the site!! How on earth did that happen? Considering it worked all the other time-might have been sheer luck or something-but problem's fixed with a quick tweak of the template and all the blog entries are all fine now :)
I'm not sure how many surveys I've written since "Dan was on the net" but people always ask me certain questions or make comments. "Why don't you answer the questions?" "Why are your answers so wacky?" In simple words: "I want communication!!"
Reasons for "different" answers:- If you ever want the direct answer all you have to do is ask... we're in a high-tech world :P
- Wacky answers are nice because hopefully they put a smile on your face :) even for a microsecond
- I find that after the second one, everyone answers questions in the same way, people just skip through stuff, so what's the point? If you write different answers or answers in a different way then you foster some environment to communicate.
- Its fun to try and think of creative ways of answering questions!
- Its even more fun to watch/read the responses
.:4:23:44 PM:.
Survey
Remember you only have to ask to get a direct answer ;)
:P
Dan
----------------HAVE YOU EVER------------------ *Put a body part on fire for amusement: Notice how it doesn't say WHOSE body part because it could have been yours, mine, the one-eyed, one-leg, seven-year-old dog named 'Lucky' umm... I'll say No *Kept a secret from everyone: If I said yes then that would reveal that I've been keeping a secret which really is the worse way to keep one... but 'yes'. *Had an imaginary friend: No, how can you fit a friend on the imaginary plane? *Had a crush on a teacher: Nope... teachersold-er... ________________FAVORITES_________________ *Shampoo: Umm its the blurry-green-shampoo-stuff (can't really wear glasses in the shower... now there's FAITH reaching for something you don't really see and using it! :D) *Color: I like all colours... I wear a lot of navy blue but I can change! Really! I can! *Day or night: heh... umm... where do I even begin to answer this question? Lets say its BETWEEN Night and Day (and not vice-versa). SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK-I powernap baby! ;) *Winter or Summer: Summer is good, you can run/rollerblade/dogsled... oh wait maybe not that last one at least not wearing a toga :P *Fave drink: Bubble-tea! Failing to find that (may that never happen) Water!!! *Fave food: Sushi! specifically Beef Sashimi.... suddenly I'm hungry... but there are tons of other great dishes. *Fave school subject: Y'all probably think its math... yeah.. but... well... nah... 'math' it is! ------------RIGHT NOW------------------ *Wearing: T-shirt and Pants. *Hair is: Neon green with phosphorescent-blue streaks but I dye it black just to make it interesting. *Feeling: Suddenly pumped... *Eating: Did you know you make an average of 1.9 Litres of saliva a day! a day!!! *Thinking about: Project/Project/"The Quest"/Contest/Homework/Webpages /how-much-longer-is-this-survey *Listening to: Cafe Del Mar volume 1,2,7,10 <- 10 is great!!! Not all at once :P -------IN THE LAST 24 HRS----------------- *Cried: Does wincing in pain while looking at a Duran Duran music video count? if not 0. *Worn a skirt: 0. *Met someone new: Yes. *Cleaned up your room: .65 (if you sum up all the little bits I've done) *Done Laundry: 1 *Drove a car: 4 ---------------DO YOU BELIEVE IN------------------ *Yourself: still here... let me check again ... hmm ahh there we go! *Your friends: Of course. *Tooth Fairy: A big :P to the tooth fairy who never visited! You just lost yourself a customer!! *Destiny/Fate: In what context? Since this is a survey I'm assuming its relationship-based which in that case I think if two people were meant to be together they will, in the end, be one. *Angels: Yes. *UFO's: Yes I believe in SLUFO (Sufficiently-Large-Unidentified-Flying-Objects) *God: Yes. ------------FRIENDS AND LIFE------------------ *Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?: I have friends who are boys and I have friends who have girls but do I have a singular friend no. I have many.. well at least a few :) *Like anyone: Maybe this survey was written in early days of internet when people had to pay for each transmitted byte with ivory backscratchers because "Like anyone" could mean multiple things... it could mean "(Do you) like anyone?"-maybe, "(Are you...) like anyone?"-yes-I'm a person-a human being!! with reference to the previous question "(Is it...) like anyone?"-maybe. :D *Did you ever cheat on your bf/gf: No. *Who's the loudest friend: ooh toughie... I'd say Kyle *Who's the shyest: Answering this question will just make the person who's shy shyer and eventually make them disappear into oblivion-do you want that on your hands!?! I think not. *Who do you go to for advice: Friends.... best/good/great friend. *Who do you cry to?: No one yet... must maintain testosterone quotient. *When have you cried the most?: When a friend or loved one departs. *Whats the best feeling in the world?: Hanging out with friends second to that, Guava Moment (http://www.danieltse.com/moment.html) *Who will respond to this email the fastest: Its been a very long time since I've done one of these-so I'm not sure. *Who did u send this to who probably won't reply? Again, must be trying to save those ivory backscratchers... tsk! tsk! Jesse will probably not reply back with the same survey-although I'm sure he will probably reply at some time in some form :P The last time I called-someone out it was extremely funny but probably not good to rehash it :P *First Name and Last Name?: Aren't we beyond names now? ;) Maybe this should be replaced with 'Do you like long walks on the beach?' or 'Hey, What's your sign?' :P *Were you named after anyone? Sure whichever baby was born 0.1 seconds before I was. "Daniel"<-Biblical "Mo-Kwong"<-'Seeking Truth and Wisdom' I think... not a direct quote. "Tse" <- I guess Toronto Stock X-change doesn't work any more does it? *Your favorite lunch meat? Sliced-chicken is the greatest invention since sliced bread! *Bad habits? "SLEEP IS FOR THE WEA-"... is insomnia a bad habit? How about avoiding survey questions? *What is your most embarrassing CD on the shelf? I don't use shelves to hold CDs :P *Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? Now this is just ridiculous, before you were trying to save those precious ivory backscratchers and now you waste them all like a two year old on a DDR machine by asking the same question!?! *Do looks matter? Back to saving those ivory backscratchers eh? I think if you find the right person in life to me she will look absolutely perfect. Continuing on that thought, the two of you will look even better together than apart. To me, that's the difference between finding someone who looks 'pretty' and someone who looks 'perfect'. *Have you ever misused a word and it sounded absolutely stupid? Yes. *Do you think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? If not there's a whole bunch of pissed-off leprechauns. *Do fish have feelings? mmm sushi... sorry? what was the question? Do sushi have what what now? *Are you trendy? Yes... no... maybe? on my off days... *How do you release anger? Breathe normally. *Do you trust others easily? I trust in people that they can do what they're best at. I find out what it is that those people can do best and if I can't then I must try harder-but once I do, yes, I trust them very easily. *What was your favorite toy as a child? Lego, Lego, Lego *What class in high school do you think was totally useless? ... if I really had to pick I would say 'information processing' but it wasn't really that useless. It trained me to use and program a computer without touching one. *Do you have a journal? Is 5 a prime number? *Do you use sarcasm a lot? {As a public service I'll use these brackets whenever I'm sarcastic} *Have you ever been in a mosh pit? I AM the mosh pit-no. *What do you look for in a guy/girl? The good in people-what kind of gifts/skills they possess-their passions... :P What qualities am I looking for in a girl? (Sorry guys... it just wasn't meant to be:P) in three words: "My other half". People always say stuff like "someone who's intelligent, who's nice, etc. etc." but a lot of people are intelligent and there are a ton of people who are nice-why don't they fit? There has to be something more than that-for some cases you meet certain people and instantly you can see yourself being good friends, then there are those very few whom you meet and then you feel a closer bond-like having a best friend. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm looking for a connection-the girl may or may not run marathons and that would be ok, she could love country music and that would be ok-if the connection was there. Does that make sense? Qualities are not quantifiable. *Nicknames? Dan, Danprime, Prime, Primo, DP and of course the ever popular 'Hey you!' *Would you bungee jump? With a cord-maybe, without a cord... mmm... .. .... probably not. *Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Ivory backscratchers again? Shoelaces? not always... what if you have to go save the world in less than twenty-seconds? *Do you think that you are strong? With or without my can o' spinach?;) I can always be better, more fit, smarter, wiser, faster, and of course stronger. *How many wisdom teeth do you have? I'm three-teeth less wiser than I was two years ago. *Are you in love with anyone? I'm quite happy with a lot of people-is that love? *Who do you miss most usually? Friends... oh and zinc! "Come back zinc! come back!!" *Do you want everyone you sent this to, to send it back? Sure :)
