My dog Blaze is dieing

My daughter, Marie, who lives in Juneau AK with her family, recently lost their loved dog Blaze. Blaze had been with them many years and was a part of the family. Marie wrote her feelings as he was succuming to sickness and passing away in January. Here it is, with her permission.

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My dog Blaze is dieing.

January 25, 2008

He struggled to lift his head. I didn't know it would be his last. He wanted to see out the window. He tried to be enthused about being in the car and going for a ride. He looked at me and then looked out the window as if to say when are we going out. His breathing was labored as he strained to hold his head . He wanted to see what was out the window.

He maintained his spirit to the end. The neighbor shoveling snow would put a spark in his eyes even if only for a moment then the stiffness and the labor just to breath would deaden the small spark. At the vet he was shaking incesantly and would press his stiff legs against me. It was the right thing to take him home he is more relaxed although he labors intensely to breath and he cannot move. We wait for the end. He is a stubborn one. He seems too young to die. I thought Beagles live to 15 or so. Every once in a while he looks out the window, then sighs, then goes back into that deadended state. He is much more relaxed than at the vet. That cold unfamiliar place filled with people who don't understand him. We understand. He doesn't like anyone to touch his toes. We understand he has some dignity. Although there is no we, there is only me. I am his favorite as long as David's not around. If son David were here, David would be his favorite.

One last ride to the vet. He looked very fearful when I put him in the back of the car. I carried him down the steps carefully. I didn't want to drop him. He always hated to be carried. Kiera and I drove to the vet again. He didn't seem concerned as much this time. His state was so grave. I think he barely knew. They shot him with the anesthesia and he responded. The doctor said it would sting him. His eyes seemed to relax some, but his breathing was still heavy. They injected the euthanasia in a moment one small noise than his breathing stopped. He was gone. The bridge vet picked up his body and will spread his ashes with the others out the road. He would've liked that.

On 3/3/2007 (last year) I wrote in my journal, "yes, Blaze is on his last legs. Enjoy his last days, yes, he's an animal without choice. He just is. Enjoy him, his heart, his passion, his faithfullness as much as he can be faithful, so he will be to the end."

Yes, he was faithfull till the end. Even though he wasn't feeling well he was still faithfully wagging his tail, eating his food, standing by. I love you Blaze. You brought much joy to our lives.

Upgrading My Computer Capability
Chapter 4 Thursday 2/21/08

Today the theme of upgrading my computer capability relates to the saying "you can’t teach an old dog new tricks". Although it may not be true in total, it certainly is on the right track.
I fired up the new dell and started getting familiar with Vista. Loaded the MS Office for students software. Over all - wow!

I started transferring stuff using my 128meg flash drive. Right away I realized that 128meg was not near big enough. It was going to take a lot of mechanical moving to get it transferred. I did get my Rails to Trails Grant Implementation stuff transferred. Which includes the Construction Plan which I am working on.

I brought the CPlan up on MSWord 2007. Wow! Really fancy over MSWord 2000. What a difference 7 years makes with those guys at MSoft. You can tell that they have been working away these last 7 years.

I spotted a 1Gig Flash Drive in Alco for 15 bucks, so bought it. There was risk as the writing said W98SE (and up). I don’t have SE. I have run into this problem before and was able to work around it with an online download. The 1GB drive worked good in the Dell but the HP would not recognize it. After a couple phone calls and email to Coby Electronics I obtained a driver that should work. But after fiddling around for several try's I was unsuccessful. I called back, explained everything and was told I was ‘out of luck’, they had no other drivers.

I connected the Dell to my KCOnline ISP. Seems to be working OK. I am not doing email yet though, until I get a virus checker. Will probably wait until I get DSL as these downloads are quite large. I am planning on a FREE one.

Ah DSL. Yes I have finally broken down, bit the bullet and signed up for DSL with my ISP. $12 more a month, no activation fee, no contract, no modem cost, no add on’s. No change in my local phone bill. Only upfront cost was shipping the package, $8. The package includes the DSL box, 4 filters, a couple cables, and the instructions. In a week or so I should be high speed (768K down, 128K up). That should get me started on high speed.

I ran into some kind of a problem with the HP yesterday. The day before when trying to get my FD’s running something happened that locked the HP up. During the turn on after a lock up shut down (termed ‘bad shut down’), the scan disc program seemed to be running on the D drive. And it wouldn’t run there. I had not noticed it trying to run on D drive after bad shutdown, before. Windows would not come up. I could not figure out a way to circumvent the Scan Disc program. I was getting nervous. Finally after reading my BIG Win 98 book that I bought at a sale many years ago. There was a method to do just that- <<programs/accessories/system information/tools/system configuration utility/Advanced/Advanced trouble shooting settings - - - check the box that says --- Disable Scan Disc after bad shut down.>>.... I also did a HD (C drive) clean up, scan disc and defrag. After which it seems to be working just fine. Needless to say I was nearing the panic state yesterday morning, about ready to visit the local computer guy. I have lots of history on the HD computer, 10 years worth.

I moved the USB cable from to my HP 845c printer from the HP over to the Dell. The software was ‘in the Vista box’ so it installed pretty clean (after a couple of pilot errors). I printed out a page from my MS2007 word Construction Plan and it worked good. To keep from having to move the printer cable back and forth I will try to hook brother Johns discarded Epson printer to the HP, . . . . sometime.

I am still trying to figure out the best way to transfer data from the HP (it does not have an ether net card, but I may be able to take one out of brother John/s discarded ‘e machines’ computer). I can tell it will take a lot of work using my little 128MB Flash Drive. Maybe I should just buy a ‘backup’ Hard drive and move the whole HP (maybe 8 Gig or so of info) to that. Will just have to make sure it will connect to my Win98 system.

Maybe 1 more chapter after this, about hooking up to DSL and getting my data transferred. Time will tell.

Upgrading My Computer Capability Chapter 3

Clear off the Dining Room Table - Chapter 3 Sunday 2/17/08

My objective today was to get my new computer gift OFF of the dining room table.

I started by installing 2 new 4’ shelves to help collect my ‘treasures’, to free up some space on my ‘desk’. 7 hours later (with a little time off for lunch) I had them both settled in, ‘power on’ and running. New Dell not hooked to Net, or printer yet.

Although I still have plenty of 'neaterizing' to do, which will at least, hopefully, partially get done, it should work OK for a while.

Disconected everything, wiping off as much dust as I could. I should open up the ol’ HP and dust off the insides.... but did not. Moving speakers and HP desktop, monitor, radio, scanner, odd’s and end's around I finally had a set up.

The 17 inch HP CRT monitor is very deep. Specially when compared to the new Dell 19 inch LCD monitor. Finally wound up having to stick in the corner. Did not like that too well, but appears to be an OK set up. I do not like not having the monitor right in front of the key board. I know many people have it set up that way, but it bothers me. Something left over from my typewriter days. Was finally able to get the monitor and keyboard in an OK position, all though backed into a corner.

Unless I can figure out how to hook up my HP flatbed scanner to the Dell I may have a 98 computer here for some time. The Flatbed scanner works very well, but it has a parallel output cable. And the Del does not have a parallel input connector. Anyone have any ideas let me know, besides buying a new scanner. May change to one of the spare 15 inch CRT’s I have though, so it doesn’t take up so much room.

Thanks again.....for the long term gift. Should last for many birthdays and Christmas’s.

The next step will be to hook the dell up to the Internet, 'dial up', first. Then I will probably start transferring stuff over to it. If it was just my home stuff, email, letters, pictures etc..... it wouldn't be too bad. However I have a lot of background Rails to Trails info and lots more stuff coming in all the time.... and developing lots of stuff....just like a job except, no pay. That move will be kind of tricky. Probably the best thing would be to network them. I think I have to have a router for that... will have to look into it. Any ideas let me know..... Meanwhile, I will use a Flash drive to move stuff back and forth.

Upgrading my Computer Capability Chapter 2 (or so)

Chapter 2 (or so) Power On
Things from my computer upgrade started coming in this week. The MSOffice Student SW package came in Tuesday via DHL. Then on Wednesday the Computer came in. Then, finally, today Friday 2/25/08, the monitor came in. Got them plugged in and ‘on’ and ‘wow’. Just think about ‘do you know how it feels when you get rid of the old bald tires on your motorcycle and put on brand new tires”? But let me digress.

Among other things I have been working away on my ol’ HP, and studying how I would rearrange my little office. But not doing much ‘rearranging’. As things came in 1 by 1, on the DHL truck, I was excited with anticipation. When the computer came in I did not see any ‘computer manual’. You know, how to use it, how does it work, etc.?. This bothered me somewhat, specially when the big plastic fold out, ‘how to hook it up in 5 different languages’ said, look in your computer manual to see how it works (MOL).

Finally the monitor came in today, and still no manual. So - - - my 1st call to Tech support… ‘where is my manual, that is referred to in the set up card?’ After many pauses, out there in India, it was something like ‘well we don’t supply those any more, you can get them online, or they are stored on your hardrive’. But I am old fashioned and I like to flip through the manual before I do anything. Sorry. I end with, ‘well put that in your book’. And yes he would be glad to… and let the management know that I was not happy because I did not have a paper manual. So now Dell will have to think of cutting down another tree to for a manual.

I decided to set it up on the dining room table where I had plenty of room. I would not have to cram it into a corner when looking for places to plug things in. My wife happened to be gone, so I knew I had at least a few hours. It went together pretty easy, just the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

I turned on the power and bingo!. Just like there was a little robot in there getting things going. The pages coming to the desktop looked like a power point presentation, as the bar on the bottom progressed from left to right. After I accepted several ‘very legal’ agreements (you read all of those before accepting them don’t you?), things were looking really FANCY.

I wandered around quite a bit, getting used to the Vista differences in the desktop. And there are many. But seemed OK. So far I was picking it up pretty easy. It came to mind though, that someone not familiar with computers and Windows would have a lot of trouble without an instruction manual. Google was very strong on the desktop, wanting to put all kinds of sidebars and desktops on. I am still not sure which is where but, have decided it can be straightened out later. Lo and behold, the Computer manual was on the HD. Not just the help screen/menu, but the manual. At first glance it looks pretty good. Assuming, if you are having trouble, you can get to it. I found the Vista games, wow!!!!. I don’t know what games XP had, but compared to W98 10 years ago, wow!. Even chess. Wait till my nephew’s son Kendal comes over and fires this chess game up. He will be impressed.

As I suspected the Photo stuff seemed very powerful. So I loaded my 2007 Alaska Oregon pictures (178) stored on my 1998 HP Windows, onto my flash drive and plugged it in. . . to the FRONT of the Dell computer. . nice. And like magic, even though it was a folder down it picked them up and was easy to get into a slide show. On the 19 inch monitor, I thought I was watching TV from back just a few years ago.

Next I loaded the MSOffice Student SW (357 Meg or so whew!). Wow, will the Rails and Trails guys be impressed with this. Excel, Word, Power Point . . . and some other stuff I am not familiar with. The most trouble I had was opening up the MSOffice Student plastic box. The single CD was inside a box with 2 pieces of paper to buy more stuff. The box was a puzzle, to me, in itself. Before I got a hammer, I finally gave up, . I gave it to my wife. After fiddling around for some time she finally figured it out. Wow, such a fancy box for 1 lousy CD.

Overall, so far, it is a BIG WOW!. What a change from working along with my ol’ 1998 HP with Windows 98 and popping into this Dell Inspiron 530 with Vista. Like I said earlier… it is like that feeling you get from the feel of a new set of treads on your motorcycle after slowly wearing out the old set with many enjoyable miles of riding.

Now we are ready for the next step. Moving into my little office and hooking up to, printer, Internet. I am worried about the scanner, which has a parallel cable. As far as I can tell, there is no parallel connector on the Dell.

I am also trying to think of some sort of a special thank you to my kids for giving me this great gift. I have a few thoughts in mind.

Upgrading My Computer Capability

Upgrading My Computer Capability
I have decided to place this story on my blog. Just because I want to.
My kids (I still call them kids, even though they now range in ages from about 50 to 45, and I will always call them my kids) have been subtly pressuring me to upgrade my computer capability for many years. Both my computer and connection speed. Lately the pressure has become insurmountable, and I will have to succumb. But first a little background.

Background
I have been involved with computers all my working life. When I was a senior at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 1959, we received our 1st computer. I believe it was a Royal ‘something’ drum machine. MSOE required a thesis for graduation. I wrote my thesis on Boolean Algebra, the basic arithmetic and logic for all computers. I have always typed since High School (1952), through my tour with the USNavy and into work. My handwriting has always been atrocious. When Apple came out with word processors, with SPELL CHECK, I though I had gone to heaven. I even taught a few classes in microprocessors when they 1st came out. The bottom line is - I am well aware of the ‘high tech’ 18 month progression cycle. Buy it now, 18 months later it is outdated.

My 1st home Computer
When I retired from Honeywell Space Systems in 1995 and left my ‘work computers’ at work, I would use the library computers for email and bring one home once in a while when doing odd jobs for Honeywell.

Finally in 1998, Christmas we bought our 1st home computer. An HP Pavilion with 64Meg of Ram, a 6.4 Gig (extra large) Hard Drive and a 333 MHz processor with Windows 98.

As time went on we added a printer, scanner etc.... It worked well. 1 Power supply problem, and I had a used extra Hard Drive installed and another chunk of RAM. Still using dial up. And it is still working well. Finally it became a GOAL for me, to stick with the HP and Windows 98 and dial up for 10 years, - till December 2008.

My wife had given up years ago and purchased her own latest tech computer/monitor.

Meanwhile, my kids had all progressed to the latest tech computers, with high speed connections. It was with great difficulty that I tried to get them to realize that they were not sending pictures of my grandkids to National Geographic. I did not need a 4meg picture to see what they looked like. Now they are talking about video...... wow .. . dial up will never work. Also, I became involved with a local group converting an ‘out of service’ section of Rail Road to a nice Pathway. As secretary and working on construction plans etc., my dial up, slow processor and limited memory was becoming a problem.

Now my upgrade story can begin.
I finally decided that I should 1st upgrade my computer then succumb to high speed Internet.. I started talking to people about it and reviewing some (forums). I came to the conclusion that I could make a significant improvement if I went with a refurbished office leased machine (like a Dell Optiplex) with Windows XP professional. Or similar. I should be able to set it behind my 17 inch CRT monitor, my good keyboard, printer, scanner, etc. and be ready to go. Much higher speed, much more HD memory, lots of Ram. With Windows XP OS, since it had all the bugs out of it. I did not want to help debug a new OS like the memory hog Vista. All at a reasonable cost. Then the next step would be to step up to high speed Internet. Out here in the country that would be DSL.
I was watching. Bid on one on Ebay only to be out bid at the last moment. A thought occurred to me, my son in NC had worked in the computer network department at a large local hospital. I recalled that he mentioned that 1 of his buddies was thinking of refurbishing computers for resale. So I asked him to check it out.

Over the next couple weeks, he is talking to me about how he and his buddy are putting together a really neat computer out of ‘used’ components. Sometimes he used the phrase ‘junk parts’ just to keep me a little worried. This last Saturday he tells me to keep an eye out for the mail as it would be showing up. As soon as he could find a shipping box. Then Monday, a note that it was on its way. I am getting ready..... Ah lots of memory (over 500 gig HD, 2+ gig of Ram, high speed, economical. A cost had not yet been established but I was assured that it would be reasonable or very reasonable. I started watching for the delivery truck.

THEN, showing up in an email - a note from all of my kids (and grandkids) alluding to a ‘gift’ and the specs for a new Dell computer with 2+ gig of ram, 500 gig HD, 2+ gigs processor, 19 inch LCD monitor, that is being shipped from Dell.

What is going on here? Calls to my kids.... Yes, they are forcing me into the new hitech world. All this time, when I thought I was getting a computer kluged together in somebody’s garage with suspect parts, they had been dealing with Dell for a -good- computer for me. My son had been feeding a line of BS for the last couple weeks. They are giving me this new (refurbished by Dell Inspiron 530) computer as a gift to cover future birthdays, fathersdays, Christmas’s for an untold number of years. IN RETURN I must transition to a high speed connection (fortunately they did not say how ‘high of a high speed connection’). The Dell is loaded several goodies including Vista. Oh no not Vista, with all of its new bugs.

I promptly, checked out a Vista book from the Library. Finally, I got over it, accepted the fact and started planning and ‘getting ready’. That’s for the next chapter.

Getting Ready
My little room "office’ is cluttered with accumulated ‘stuff’ from over the last 5 years. Radio, pictures, books, notebooks, files, papers, maps, scanner, printer, pencils, software, music. Very disorganized, but I know where most everything is. And everything is saved for some future use. My transition to this new computer need not be a panic replacement, since my HP is still working well. So I need a nice slow, side by side, methodical transition.

1st I need to clear a space so I can set up 2 computers. Wow what do I do? Where do I start? Clear papers, move my radio, make a space on my writing desk top. Reorganize my Computer log book, which I have had for 5 years, and make a space for the new computer. Wipe up some dust. This could take a while, and it does. But I think I am about ready. It will take some last minute paper reshuffling. But close enough.

Shutting off the Engine in an Unattended Car

The Click and Clack article in this morning’s paper about finding a car running, no one around, and the questioner wanting to shut it off, reminds me of a story.

Many long years ago, it seems, about 1957, I was going to Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee Wisconsin. One of my part time jobs was working at a downtown parking lot. My job was parking cars or telling people where to park them as they came to work, and then digging them out when they left. At the time I had a 1951 Buick. I did not drive it much as I lived close to school and had to keep my nose to the grindstone. But it did get me back home to Indiana once in a while.

Anyway, 1 day there was this car parked at the back entrance to a store at the edge of our lot. The motor was running. I kept watching it. No one came to check it. I was thinking the driver must have forgot to turn off the key when they got out. Finally, being the helpful person that I was, I decided to go over and turn it off. Which I did. The door was unlocked so I did not have take off my sock or find a potato and stuff it up the tailpipe.

After some time a man came out of the back door, yelling “Who in the hell turned off my car?” He was pretty livid. Of course I had to admit the deed. “Well get your car, because we have to push/toe it to get it started”. No one had a chain so ‘push it’ it was, with my nice ’51 Buick. It seem like I pushed him forever, several blocks before it started. The bumpers scraping and grinding. I remembered the scratches on the front bumper for a long time.

From that day on I have never turned of the engine in a car that I have seen running with no one around.

Ps- My boss was interesting also. Telling me stories about his escapades running bootleg whiskey from St Louis to Chicago in the roof of his car, during prohibition.

Tongue Twisters

A day or so ago, was ‘groundhog day’. One of the news stations had a little clip of-

“If a woodchuck would chuck wood how much wood would a woodchuck chuck?”

It caused me to remember there was a ‘tongue twister’ that I used like. I tried to remember what it was. I could not remember. I kept thinking hard, yesterday, last night, this morning, but just could not remember. It was buried back deep in my brain and just would not come out.

Then this morning, when I was drinking my cup of coffee, it came back to me. Here it is-

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pecks of pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?”
Hope all your kids are able to recite it fast withoug getting their tongues all twisted up.