Oh, What Trouble a Senile -- er, Senior Citizen Wroughteth!

Grumpy's Castle; Last Days of October 2010 --

As some of the more knowledgeable members of the Clan are already aware, the Grumpy One really got himself in deep "doo-doo" with his desk-top computer this past couple of weeks. It all started with the irresistible temptation to Upgrade his desktop to Windows 7 operating system. Let me start at the beginning of the process.

First, after carefully reading the instructions (ha! ha! you all thought I would skip them, didn't you!?), and purchasing and installing a brand new half-Terabyte SATA hard-drive, Grumpy gently placed the legal MS CD in the DVD drive and pushed "GO", intending that the upgrade would be installed on the new drive.

Somewhere, I apparently missed the clue that the upgrade was being installed on the same drive as the EOM Windows XP operating system. The first time this was noticed was when I rebooted the computer, expecting to start enjoying the exciting, new Windows 7 operating system. To my surprise, I was greeted with a choice of two operating systems. Fine; either one worked just great at this point.

Next, I proceeded to MOVE (not COPY!) several of my most prized folders of data from the IDE drive to the SATA drive. At some point, not being content with my new OS installed on the same IDE drive as my XP OS, I then decided to reinstall the Windows 7 operating system onto the SATA drive. [At this point, Grumpy neglected to heed the warning label on the Windows 7 upgrade package about SAVEing all your data on a different drive before installing Windows 7. Alas, when all was said and one, my most prized folders were no where to be seen!!

What is even worse, suddenly Grumpy found that he couldn't even access the IDE drive!! An UNERASE program was downloaded (onto the SATA drive), but not being able to "see" the IDE drive rendered the unerase program useless. After much council with Number One Son, gnashing of teeth and sweating  blood over Grumpy's carelessness, the #1 Son suggested a data recovery outfit who might be able to salvage Grumpy's self-made disaster.

After a detailed communication with the data recovery person via telephone, Grumpy shipped off his deaf, blind and dumb hard-drive to this outfit for their diagnosis, investigation of what (if any) data was recoverable, and an estimate as to how much said recovery would cost. I await their e-mail some time this week.

Stay tuned for follow-on -- "smoke" and tears, or cheers of joy!!

Last Great Flying Adventure -- A Tiring Flight and A Fond Reunion

14-15 October 2009; Merida, Yucatan --

The afternoon of 14 October Grumpy boarded a Passadore Airlines communter airplane at the Ribeirao Preto airport, after bidding goodbye to Bob and Adelaide, and Yvonne (Adelaide's older sister). The Passadore flight was of 40 minutes duration, taking me to the big international airport in Sao Paulo. I would have a four or five hour wait in Sao Paulo before my overnight flight to Mexico City.

In Sao Paulo, I had a light meal and a cup of coffee before I checked in with AeroMexico and went through Brazilian Customs. When I found the waiting area for AeroMexico airlines, I looked for a 110 volt outlet into which to plug the laptop I had been carrying for Victor. Alas, every one was occupied by those who got there first! Oh well, I decided to go to one of the many stores accessible in the secure area and purchase a voltage adapter! After a frustrating hour and a half to two hours of seeking and not finding, I finally sat down and, using my reading glasses to magnify the fine print on the back of the power module of the HP computer, I discovered that this power module was designed for "wide input power range" spanning 90 to 240 volts and from 50 to 60 hz frequencies! I gingerly connected the power module, thinking "I can always replace Victor's power module if this doesn't work". Nothing happened, so I then connected the power module to the computer and connected to the terminal WiFi. Now I could write the Grand Mother an e-mail to let her know where I was and what I was doing, and update my BLOG!

Alas again!! After writing a full page of the "best love letter" I have ever written to my Bride of 61 years, I discovered that the WiFi had "gone down" at about line three!! I shopped around for another internet access, including one that would charge me 15 "somehings-or-other" per 24 hours. But I was stymied here, in that that internet access required my "BCP number". The BCP number, I found out, is the Brazilian citizen's "document" number -- I didn't have one because I'm not a Brazilian citizen! I finally had to give up and wait until I arrived in Merida to get on the internet. By that time I had forgotten all of the nice things I had written in the original letter -- all lost to the bottomless "bit bucket"!!

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The AeroMexico flight from Sao Paulo to Mexico City was via a Boeing 777. This aircraft sports two aisle, with three seats on each side and three in the middle. The aisles are narrower than the single aisle aircraft, but with special service carts there is no problem. Walking up and down them is also no problem because the seat backs are available to steady yourself if necessary. The leg room in this AeroMexico 777 was generous and Grumpy got some decent sleep during the approximate eight-hour flight.

Upon arrival in Mexico City, I had to go through customs to enter Mexico, then through the open (outside of security) terminal to the "domestic" airlines concourse from which AeroMexico service continued (but now on an Airbus A320 airplane) to take me to Merida. The flight time from Mexico City to Merida was only about 2 hours, but the wait in Mexico City airport seemed long; I was anxious to get to greet my Granddaughter, Olivia whom I hadn't seen in about three years!

The services on AeroMexico was better than any I had enjoyed in recent flights on U.S. carriers, possibly excepting Alaska Airlines. We were issued a sleep mask and head phones, shortly after boarding the 777 in Sao Paulo. Although it was around midnight by the time we left Sao Paulo and had climbed above the turbulence in the lower altitudes, we were served a hot meal! Then about an hour and half before we reached Mexico City, we were served another hot meal -- a breakfast! Of course there was the usual complementary cold drinks -- coffee, tea or milk -- to go with and following these meals. Grumpy was duly impressed; it was like the good old days in the U.S. The aircraft was nearly full (90%?), so AeroMexico had to be making money!

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At last, in Merida as I came down the ramp from de-planing, Grumpy was rewarded by this welcoming visage! Did Olivia remember her Grandpa? Her smiling nod indicated, "Yes! (or was that "Si!"?) Could Grumpy still call her his "Little Punkin"? Again, the smiling, affirmative nod! We hugged, I cried!

The dress she was wearing, her Abuelita Maria told me, was her school uniform. Although she had attended school that morning, I was later to find out that she had been excused from attendance the following days while her Grandpa Z (Abuelo) was there. We would have some happy times together!!

Grumpy brought a "little green computer" for Olivia, an OX model, designed and manufactured under sponsorship of John Poindexter, a philanthropist whose vision is to have one of these computers available to children in third world countries. By purchasing two of these computers, one being donated to a child in some foreign country, I was able to have one to give to a child of my choice. The OX uses the Linux operating system, has a soft membrane covering the keyboard and is not damaged by being subjected to some rain or a momentary dash of liquid. It is powered by a built-in battery that can be recharged from a wide variety of power sources -- probably not including D.C.

Olivia was extremely proud of "her computer" and was fascinated by what would happen if she pushed this button or that button! She had the most fun pressing the button that rotated the image by 90 degree increments!! -- as Grandpa was trying to show her the letter he had written to her long ago when he had first received this computer for her. Like old times, Olivia giggled and squealed as Grumpy growled and grimaced each time she flipped the screen! Her impishness entertained Grumpy as he recognized her familiar, inherited characteristics.

The next day after Grumpy's arrival, we (Abuelita Maria, Olivia and Grumpy) walked 1/2 mile or so to her school -- Grumpy wanted to see what her school was like. On the way, Olivia took every opportunity to jump up on these occasional blocks which appeared randomly along the sidewalks or walkways beside the streets in Merida. Her bottomless energy made Grumpy smile to himself.

The school was very clean and full of life, with a playground/activity center and seemingly well-equipped classrooms, and plenty of teachers and assistants. Before, when Grumpy asked Olivia's Papa if English was being taught, his response was, "NO! If they teach her, she talk like me! When she comes back, you teach her, then she talks like Ramiro!" And that was that! And a very nice compliment.

Most fascinating of all was the attraction that Olivia's computer had when she showed it to some of her friends at school. There wasn't enough room for all the little brown heads that wanted to see what it could do. Grumpy reassured Abuelita Maria that Olivia should be allowed to bring the computer to school if the teacher permitted. It will be interesting to learn what transpires.

In the photo at left, Olivia's curly locks (left-most in the photo) distinguish her head from her classmates'. The computer can be glimpsed as the green object peering out below the nearer heads.

An evening out was to follow this already full day. But that is another story.

Last Great Flying Adventure -- Part V

7 & 8 October 2009; Alta Floresta --

We left Boa Vista early in the morning of the 7th, again having a breakfast in flight; Uncle Bob is an accomplished "chef" with regular oatmeal, wetted with cold water and flavored with instant coffee, powdered milk and cocoa mix. The aeronatical flight plan office permitted us a direct route to Alta Floresta, but we flew towards Manaus (this is the safe route) until we were about 40 nautical miles away toward the east and then we turned slightly more easterly direct on into Alta Floresta. We landed in Alta Floresta at 2030 UMT (I believe that is about 1230 Seattle time), about 3:30 local time. An airport worker was there to signal us in to our parking spot. Tony Rossini (the World's finest "shade tree" aircraft mechanic!!) arrived five or ten minutes later for a warm reunion of friends.

Tony drove us to our hotel (Piramide Hotel), which is between downtown Alta Floresta and the airport. We took a welcome shower to rinse the "road dust" (actually, tropical humidity-induced sweat!!) off of us, donned clean dry clothes and walked a few blocks down to an breezeway type restaurant where we dined luxuriously on Picanha (pronounced "pee-con-ya" -- Brazilian beef), Majorca (from which tapioca is refined), sliced tomato-onion-lettuce salad with oil & vinegar dressing, and after dinner, a demitasse of coffee.

Before driving us to our hotel, Tony showed us some trees on his shop property that are starting to bear fruit, now that it is Spring in this southern part of the world. Pictured on the left, with Tony's apprentice, is a bunch of bananas. Later I'll try to get the apprentice's name and address for any eligible young ladies out there.

In the forest behind Tony's shop were some Jaca trees with huge (watermelon-sized!) fruit hanging perilously on high (see photo on right). These big fruit drop to the ground when ripe and when they burst open, attract bees and wasps that savor their sweet meat inside. These fruit have seeds as large as large pecans, in amongst the meat.

This morning (8th) we arose at 0530 local time and enjoyed the hotel complementary breakfast. The breakfast buffet consisted of two kinds of juice (orange and ??), huge slices of very good watermelon, cantalope, and papaya; various sweet rolls (none of which Bob and I had), two kinds of wheat bread, very delicious and fresh French rolls, three different kinds of cheeses, a couple different kinds of sliced meats, and of course Brazilian coffee. I'm still sticking to my Seattle diet, so I had Orange juice, the fruits, a French roll and slice of multi grain bread with some of each of the cheeses -- and a cup of coffee.

Now (morning of the 8th) I am sitting in Tony's shop office, plugged into his high-speed internet and finally have Victor's laptop connected! I discovered that the wired LAN interface on this laptop had not been enabled! That is maybe why I had trouble when I tried to use the wired connection back in Curacao.

I am going to owe Victor something for the use of "his" computer!! It has certainly turned out to be a convenience on this trip! Uncle Bob didn't bring his along this time -- he usually does, and I had counted on it -- but his is already in Brazil, so that was why.

Anyway, it is a good thing I found this disabled internet interface, as Victor may not have been able to.

"Big Daddy" Computer Lives Again!!

After several frustrating days waiting for UPS to deliver my replacement power supply, it finally arrived yesterday (Monday, 19 November 2007). Son Jim had come up to visit so the installation was postponed while the Grand Mother and Grumpy enjoyed his visit. We continue to pray for his health to improve (although Grumpy is envious of his trim, athletic 170 pound frame!).

The power supply "slipped in" just as easily as the burned-out one had slipped out -- Difficultly!! But the mounting screws all fit and within 10 or 15 minutes Grumpy had connected all of the items to their respective connector (there are about 8 or 10 empty connectors available for more peripherals!)

So, here is a picture of the "Big Daddy" with it's cover off. (I couldn't resist!!) The power supply is at the upper left corner of this photo; the mother board is in the dark, central part of the photo. (Grumpy was relieved when the computer "booted up" as soon as the new power supply was hooked up, proving that nothing serious had damaged any other components in this powerful machine.) Excess power cabling is coiled up and "stashed" between the power supply and the CD-ROM drive which is at the upper right.

Harry, the computer hardware guru of the Z-clan, opined that the power supply failure was due to a capacitor rupture; Grumpy thought more likely it was the high-voltage windings on the transformer. He tested the 120 volt input pins and found them open. However, he was not able to establish that the high-voltage section of the transformer was open. Observation of the dissected power supply revealed a "sooty" deposit on a couple small, wafer capacitors mounted between the transformer and one of the high-power rectifiers. It seems that some kind of powerful electrical phenomenon occurred in this area. Until proven otherwise, Grumpy will accept Harry's diagnosis of what went wrong.

Grumpy is NOT planning further investigation to ascertain a repair strategy for this power supply! Its destiny is a recycling bin.

More, Bigger Computer Problems!!

Well, it seems that, like my Tee-shirt that Ray and Sabrina gave me for my birthday says, "No matter what I do, I just get in trouble!"

However, the trouble I am in this time is not with the Grand Mother -- my computer "blew up" yesterday; I was peaceably working away on it making good progress, when oliver sodden a flash and loud Z-zz-a-app!! And the screen went black and all activity of the computer went dead.
I think the power supply shorted out. At least I hope it's nothing more than that. I examined the PC boards and saw no dark brown areas, indicative of overheating and shorting. The smell of the electrical stuff having been fried was definitely coming from the computer case.
Now I'm just waiting for a response from my computer hardware geek back in MD to advise me on my next step.
Enough of the mis-steps, already!!

Problems: Computer- and Offspring-caused

Tuesday started out with great promise: DHL delivered a new DELL laptop which I found laying on the kitchen table when the Grand Mother and I returned from her regular Tuesday bone-crunching session at the local Chiropractor. The laptop is for Adolfo and I had promised him that I would download some useful application software into it before he took permanent possession.

The first step was to connect to my secure wireless home network. I found a couple of 26-digit WPA passcodes, one of which I was pretty sure was the right one. Alas, neither would pass the router's security exam! Well, no problem I thought; just open up the router utility and get the right passcode. "Now what is my 'username' and 'password' for the router utility??" Well, I "lucked out" on that one and, after two or six tries managed to conjure up the right set. But then a blank wall!! Eeek!! Not the right menu showed! In fact NO menu showed.

Finally Grumpy called the Maryland Ward to get a refresher course on what I needed to do. This was somewhat of a risk, because it turns out that MW is getting old and forgetful (I think he has inherited this from his Mother's side of the family) and can't remember where he put HIS user's manuals either. But, despite having a guest from Spokane WA in his house, at least he was willing to try to find his documents or consult someone who knew the solution to my dilemma.

In the meantime, Grumpy delved into various settings on the Big Daddy computer (the "Master Computer" on the secure network) and found that a security setting needed to be relaxed before the router utility would work. Voila! The utility was accessed and the passcode for adding Adolfo's laptop to the network was found and Grumpy was in business.

Later that evening, Grumpy called (at Grumpy's long-distance expense!) the Maryland Ward to tell him that I appreciated his efforts and to assure him that the problem was solved. I also apologized to him for interrupting his visit with his friend. Was MW appreciative of my courtesy call? Heck NO!! Instead, he said "Good, now I can sit down and eat the rest of those Lemon Meringue Pies that Peggie baked for us tonight!"

Now, there are only two people in this world who love Lemon Meringue Pies as much as I do: Maryland Ward and the local elementary school Gym Teacher, Mr. McAbee. MW did not have to bring up the subject of the LMP to which he had access; LMP for which there was no competition present to prevent his slowly savoring of this heavenly elixir; LMP, which he knew in his black little heart, that the Grand Mother will not bake for Grumpy until two years short of never!

I ask the Readers of this BLOG: How cruel is it that my own flesh and blood would flaunt something like that in my face; I mean, if he had been close enough so I could have wrestled him to the floor and tickled the stuffings out of him, or if the Lemon Meringue Pies, which were the subject of his flaunting, had been close enough that Grumpy could have had fair access to them in competing for their disappearance ---.