Her name was Littlebit

My laptop is in Intensive Care right now, or needs to be.

It started out with mouse driver error messages. I cleaned up the drive, ran virus scans, reinstalled the mouse driver. Then video card driver error messages started. I repaired them. (I'm really happy that I backed up 99.99% of my files at this point, onto our other PC.)

Then the system would not boot. It would try to boot for about 15 seconds, and then start over. Then it would start over. Then it would start over. It would not boot in Safe Mode, or any other mode for that matter.

I used the restore disc and reset the system back to its out-of-the-box configuration. YAY, it worked!

...for about 10 minutes.

Then blue screens of crapitude started, crashing the system at random -
Bad Pool Caller
Page Fault in Non Paged Area
IRQL Not Less or Equal

.

Now, I'm not nearly as technical I'd like to be, so please forgive what is likely an ignorant question: With a fresh system restoration and an ongoing "crapping out every 3 minutes" problem, it seems as if it's hardware-related? Motherboard issues?

Clearly, I need to get it looked at by a professional, but I have to guess that if it IS a hardware problem, I might as well buy a new laptop. How long do laptops last, anyway? This is my first one, and I've had it just exactly two years.

Obviously, you can just keep replacing everything that breaks, but how long is that cost-effective?

IKEA Dreams and Stranger Things

It's been an okay day. We got lots of work done, verified many fixes. We're supposed to get a new build sometime soon. This will probably be a 12 hour day, but we've been bracing for this, so it's no surprise.

I got fed up with the living room layout last night and did some re-arranging. It looks a lot better now - all we need is a room full of new furniture, end tables, lamps, area rug.

Because of this re-arranging, the guest room is now a crowded mess. I just shoved everything from the living room into the guest room. I need to dis-assemble the bed and stow it in the closet. That will free up a lot of room.

I'm tempted to say "screw the laptop" and just go on an IKEA spending spree. I don't know, though... I think the couch we wanted is no longer available in the color we liked. Hmn. We probably waited too long on that one. That's the way things are at IKEA - buy it when you see it, or next time it will be gone.

Fiddling While the Gold Master Burns...

The 'gold candidate' is due soon - our deadline is Friday, and I'm not feeling urgency. I know we're gonna be late with this game, I feel it in my bones, and it seems that I'm the only one. People are wandering in whenever they please, enjoying lengthy lunches, and leaving by 8pm. This is not a development team concerned about meeting their deadline. If this were my game - if I were the producer, I'd be five kinds of pissed.

The producers should be here, at least one of them, making sure that all that can be done is being done. But they are not here, and so that sense of ugency is missing. Hey, maybe the contract for the next game is already signed, and they're not concerned. I don't have enough information about future projects to guess. But this project AINT READY TO SHIP.

All this means lots of OT for me, and likely a healthy dose of DT too. Demon Laptop torments me from the possibility realm of "gee golly wouldn't it be nice..." (Like Demon Alcohol, you know... Demon... Oh never mind).

Doing DDR in the mornings, it's a nice switch from riding the bike. Cindy's been talking about a treadmill lately. Pretty soon here, we're gonna have to turn the spare bedroom into a gym. If we use the stuff, I don't mind spending money and space on exercise gear. Especially when it's fun like DDR.

Still toying with the idea of the bike riding game... Flash game might be pretty easy... Hmn. Maybe someday.

Cindy still hopes for us to move to Florida some day. They keep getting hit with storms... I tell you, Florida isn't a safe place to be in this era of global warming.

Monday Again??

Yeah, it's Monday again.

I'm expecting even more overtime at work this week. The game is supposed to be done in like 2 weeks, but games, they are always late.

So I should be able to score OT most nights this week, and probably weekend work too. This will further my 'Gotta Own a Laptop' quest, which has become all-consuming. I have this foolish idea that I will be far more productive with a laptop. We'll see!