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Computer Struggles
I've been trying to finish my dad's website for the last week. I've learned about CSS, and used iMovie, and it's almost done--but sometime between late May when I plugged it in and left it, and when I went to go get some data off of it last week, my backup hard drive died. I hadn't been able to transfer the data from it to the new computer before we left--that was one of the tasks that was deemed "not important right now."
So of course, I need that data to upload my dad's website, and don't even know if my dad wrote it down when I told it to him over the phone a year ago. I tried USB connection, I tried firewire--it's just not showing up at all. Did I do something wrong? So frustrating. It was even plugged into a protected grounded socket, so should have been ok...
So I thought, "well, I'll move on to another project, getting my printer to work so I can print up the resume that I want to handedit, and the cellphone charms I want to sell online."
My printer, which came out of the freebox at college, is an HP812c. Supposedly supported by the version of Mac OS X I have (Leopard). And supposedly supported by Gutenprint, which supports about a zillion trillion printers. But the best output I've been able to get out of it so far has been gibberish with the test text overlaid; mostly it's still just printing gibberish. So I have to get a new cheap inkjet printer tomorrow. I thought about going to goodwill, but the chances that goodwill will have something that won't itself start printing gibberish in two years will be slim, I think.
I finally got my photo printer to work (thanks, Gutenprint), only to find that it was out of ink and I'll have to get more ink to use for that as well, though I probably can't afford that right now.
But nothing plugged into the USB hub is registering correctly, if at all.
And I still have to paper-maiche that mask, but I stabbed the side of my index finger with a pair of scissors while trying to open a frozen sausage two days ago, and it still bleeds whenever I get out of the shower, so I don't really want to go do a thing that's going to dry out my skin even more until it heals.
I did manage to exercise for an hour today, which is making me feel good, but I've been really frustrated at the way that technology has stymied me this week. I want to be able to tell people "yeah, I have a website now with stuff to sell," when I go to Boston in a week, not just be like "um, I don't have anything to show yet for the past two months, because I was setting up house and then I went into the hospital and then I spent a week trying to get technology to work," which is just depressing. I wish I felt further along in my life.
So of course, I need that data to upload my dad's website, and don't even know if my dad wrote it down when I told it to him over the phone a year ago. I tried USB connection, I tried firewire--it's just not showing up at all. Did I do something wrong? So frustrating. It was even plugged into a protected grounded socket, so should have been ok...
So I thought, "well, I'll move on to another project, getting my printer to work so I can print up the resume that I want to handedit, and the cellphone charms I want to sell online."
My printer, which came out of the freebox at college, is an HP812c. Supposedly supported by the version of Mac OS X I have (Leopard). And supposedly supported by Gutenprint, which supports about a zillion trillion printers. But the best output I've been able to get out of it so far has been gibberish with the test text overlaid; mostly it's still just printing gibberish. So I have to get a new cheap inkjet printer tomorrow. I thought about going to goodwill, but the chances that goodwill will have something that won't itself start printing gibberish in two years will be slim, I think.
I finally got my photo printer to work (thanks, Gutenprint), only to find that it was out of ink and I'll have to get more ink to use for that as well, though I probably can't afford that right now.
But nothing plugged into the USB hub is registering correctly, if at all.
And I still have to paper-maiche that mask, but I stabbed the side of my index finger with a pair of scissors while trying to open a frozen sausage two days ago, and it still bleeds whenever I get out of the shower, so I don't really want to go do a thing that's going to dry out my skin even more until it heals.
I did manage to exercise for an hour today, which is making me feel good, but I've been really frustrated at the way that technology has stymied me this week. I want to be able to tell people "yeah, I have a website now with stuff to sell," when I go to Boston in a week, not just be like "um, I don't have anything to show yet for the past two months, because I was setting up house and then I went into the hospital and then I spent a week trying to get technology to work," which is just depressing. I wish I felt further along in my life.
no subject
If you have pictures of finished stuff already, seriously just use Etsy to sell things. You can make a portfolio website later. At least, that's how I've been doing it. Etsy takes care of the e-commerce stuff (and gets a few fresh eyes to the items), and my portfolio presents a good, controlled overview of my designs.
And anyway, people in Boston will be happy to see you and value you as a friend regardless of how much free time you've had to work on some website, and they understand that you've had a lot of life to deal with. I know how nice and conversationally-convenient it is to be able to tell people about Projects, but it's not the only thing people have friends for. (At least, this is what I tell myself when it's been weeks since I've done anything at the metalsmithing studio and the javascript project I've been obsessing about hasn't really made it farther than handwritten notes yet...)
no subject
But this gives me severe misgivings about my planned computer upgrade.
no subject