23 February 2010 odds and ends

23 February 2010  odds and ends




Hike with Mike this morning. Henry, youngest son of one of the oldest valley families joined us today. The minute I cleared the driveway it began to rain. While I was wearing Gore-Tex, I came back wet from the knees down. Gore-Tex excels at keeping one warm and dry in cold and rainy weather. I was comfortably warm and my down vest stayed dry under my parka. Take the temperature up 20 degrees, and Gore-Tex and analogous materials become a sauna with sleeves. There really isn’t any good rainwear for temps in the 60’s and above.

Loki plodded along with us, not complaining but not overly happy to be out in the rain. At one point her control collar became disconnected but I noticed it before she had a chance to wander too far on her own. I think I’ll quit using that collar as she really doesn’t need the prongs for control. Back to the standard slip-chain that can’t come apart in use.

For some unknown reason our HP J5780 all –in-one periodically loses its connection to the computer it is hardwired to. The maintenance program that is designed to track ink use and carry out other functions fails to recognize the printer as present in the electronic plane of existence. While other programs will still connect with the errant printer, they are also not able to guarantee flawless printing or even initiate printing. Some programs will initiate a print but some of the characters will print in reverse. Needless to say, frustrating.

Today I went through the process of downloading the printer drivers, deleting the older software, and re-installing the newest revision of HP’s drivers and other associated software. What I want the device to do is print documents upon demand, copy documents and graphics, and send and receive faxes. I do not want it to organize all my graphic files into a massive upload to a commercial site. I do not want to print photos remotely or contract with anyone to print my photos. And I do not wish to install any tool bars that hijack browser and other selections.

Currently the computer recognizes the presence of the printer. Whether it will or not tomorrow remains to be seen.

Loki is migrating between her kennel and a rug in front of the stove. I’m planning a bison/beef meatloaf for dinner.