Online order problems

Placed on order for a set of Altec Lansing speakers, so that I could get surround sound for my computer. But since my shipping and billing addresses are different, they have to hold my order and confirm with the credit card company. I called up the credit card company to add an alternate address, and the woman who's working the phone sounds like she's never heard of the term.

Wonder if I'll actually get the damn thing.

Slow connection speeds

Decided to test the connection speed, after suspecting it of being slow for about a month... Basically the decision was triggered by use of Mike's laptop to test his wireless connectivity. The wireless connection was good, but it was the Internet connection itself that was bad.

So I performs a bunch of speed tests before I called Charter, and the average download speed was 873.25 kbps. High tapped out at 1.4 Mbps, and the low was 100 kbps.


And I just tested again. Here are the results.

DSL Reports:

1966 / 235
Your download speed : 2013612 bps, or 1966 kbps.
A 245.8 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 241331 bps, or 235 kbps.


SBC Yahoo:

Download = 2.258 Mbps
Upload = 245.67 kbps


CNet: 77.7 kbps


That's pretty bad....

Gas prices went up again!

What happened? When I went to get gas on Sunday (after having driving long distances to and from Peggy's wedding), premium gas was only $2.099 per gallon.

I went to gas up again today, and now it's $2.179 per gallon for premium! I thought prices were supposed to go down since summer is almost over...


On a side note, the AMSOIL seems to be working pretty well so far. Of course, it's still too early to tell.

Gmail invites

Whatever it was they were doing, they seemed to have changed it. I got one invite that I could give out yesterday, and today, I got five more. This, after about three months of not being able to send any invites.

I guess they were testing whatever it is that they test, and now have decided to enable invites again.

So I sent an invite to my brother, one to George, and another to Betty. Except the first one to my brother was the wrong address, so I had to send another one. So now I'm down to two invites left. Since Betty was wondering if she could have separate accounts in Gmail, I sent her the link for the wrong invite. We'll see if that works.

Oil change today

Picked up a K&N oil filter yesterday after work, and got my oil changed with the AMSOIL today before work. Guess I'll find out if it really is a better synthetic soon enough.

Got motor oil

The 5 quarts of AMSOIL synthetic I ordered arrived today. I'll have to remember to pick up an oil filter (or double-check to see if I already have one ready) later today, and hopefully get my oil changed tomorrow.

For quick reference, here's the link to an online test of different synthetic oils.

Well, that worked

Looks like the solution I found from the Google search did the trick. Now everything's synchronizing okay again. Whew.

Sync problems

The one problem I've been experiencing with my new PDA is sync errors when I'm trying to get it to install/sync with my PC.

At first, I would get an error message every once in a while, but it would sync again when I restarted my computer. But ever since I tried to install the Palm Bible Reader and HandStory Basic, it just refuses to sync, no matter what I do. I get an error message saying that sync failed and that I should look at the log for more details... and the log is pretty useless:

HotSync operation was terminated. Some of your data was NOT backed up.

An application on the PC failed to respond to a confirmation query. This application may need to be restarted.

Gee, thanks. Didn't tell me anything about what I could do to make it sync again. Which application?

Battery low

Just got the "battery low" notice for my wireless mouse a minute ago. I've been using the computer for about 6 hours today, with medium mouse usage.

The good and the bad

I cleaned my car and its windows last night, and this morning, on my way to work, some bird pooped all over my windshield. So I had to clean it again when I got to work.

On the brighter side of things, my new PDA arrived ahead of schedule today--it was scheduled to arrive on Thursday, the 19th--which is quite surprising, since it supposedly only shipped out last night, and was apparently shipped from New Jersey.

So I've already transferred what I can from my old PDA to this one. Gonna take a while to get used to graffiti2, and obviously some of the other stuff will have to be reinstalled. But so far, so good.

Need to update

I need to remember to update my Autobytel garage profile to include the smog check information... I think I forgot to do that when I got the smog check.

At any rate, I'm going to get an oil change soon. Since this Saturday is Peg's wedding, I'll have to wait til next week. So I've placed an order for 5 quarts of AMSOIL 5W-30, to see how it compare to the Mobile One synthetic I've been using.

Tried some more tweaks for Doom 3's performance, but pretty much couldn't get it to do much better. Donald did something to help increase it by around 2 FPS, and I changed the anisotropy to the lowest setting, which increased it by another 0.8 or 0.9 FPS. Guess I'll look through the tweak file I found earlier to see if there's anything in there I can use. Ran a bunch of tests as a result, so not too much mouse usage today, either.

Current lowest gas price for premium (91 octane): $2.139


Computer usage for Aug. 16: ~5 hours
Mouse usage: light

Light

Went to watch Alien vs. Predator. Not as bad as I thought it would be.

Gave Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic a try. Doesn't look too bad, though some of the controls are going to take some getting used to.

Computer usage for Aug. 15th: ~5 hours
Mouse usage: Light

Saturday

Mom and grandma dropped by at around noon, and we went out to lunch, then stopped by a Chinese supermarket so mom could pick up some groceries.

By the time we got back, it was around 3:00pm, and I had to meet with Jennifer and George at 3:30, so I couldn't help mom too much with her Excel worksheet. I'll see if I can take a look at it tomorrow.

So Don and I went to George's place. We then carpooled to Lawry's in Beverly Hills (10 west, exit Lacienega north), where George, Jennifer, Lisa, Jessica, and Fred, along with my brother and I, had their prime rib dinner, and a bottle of wine. We got there at 4:35 for our reservation, but didn't get to the main course until around 6:00.

Afterwards, we went back to George's place and played a few rounds of cards.

Got a call from Jeffry, who just test drove a Nissan Altima, and was wonder how much down-payment we had put on our cars before.


After we got home, I played some Doom 3, then checked the forums, downloaded some mods for Doom 3, and played a bit more.


Since we got back at around 11:00, and used the compuer for about an hour during the day, the total computer usage for today is once again around 6 hours..

Mouse usage during this period: medium

Begin MX700 battery test

Start of test:

Aug. 13th, 10:00pm

Decided to test how long the batter in my Logitech MX700 can last without charging. I used to just put the mouse in the cradle everday when I turn off my computer, so the batter never gets close to running low. For this test, I'm going to have to remember to leave the mouse next to the keyboard.

Current time: 4:20am, Aug 14th
Computer usage this session: ~6 hours

Mouse usage during this period: medium-low

&$^#ing BuyDig

It's been two days, and the site still has my order listed as "new order"... so it hasn't shipped it. Even though it claims to have "fast service"...

Look up "gullible" in the dictionary

And find my picture underneath.

I was taken in by a scam today. Some guy approached me in the parking lot of Food 4 Less today, and asked me what "village" we were in, then asked me to talk to his lawyer on his cell phone for him. Ended up driving him around trying to help him, only to have my money scammed.

Maybe if I were trying to be so helpful, I wouldn't have been scammed. There were certainly enough times, when if I didn't offer certain kinds of assistance, the scam wouldn't have worked.

Luckily, they didn't get much money.

POP! Goes the other PIAA bulb

My passenger-side fog light burned out today. And it looks like I forgot to put my screw-driver back in the car from last Saturday, so I can't put the new fog light on.

And that'll take care of my last PIAA H3 bulb. I'll have to order another set for backup soon.

Out of Kleenex

I'm down to the last sheet of Kleenex in my car... so gotta remember to pick up another box soon.

Actually, I think I'm just gonna get it during my lunch break, while I stop in the Albertson's for the BofA ATM. Might just get some donuts for lunch.

Can't figure it out

There was a Chinese song that was running through my head, but I can't remember what it is now. The only song that came to mind is 夢醒時分 by 陳淑樺, which is also good song, so I downloaded it. But I'm pretty sure that wasn't the song that was running through my head.

This is gonna bug me until I figure it out.

Betty's birthday

It's Betty's birthday today, so I called to wish her a happy birthday after I got home from work.

As I expected, there was no answer, so I left her a message. She called me back at around 10:00pm, and we talked till around 11:00.

New PDA

Broke down and ordered the Tungsten E today. Prices have gone down a bit since the last time I checked, which is good. Ordering it off BuyDig.com, along with a 128MB SD card.

Free shipping is 7-10 days, so I chose a faster delivery option for an additional 15 bucks, and went through the checkout process. But somehow it doesn't remember the shipping method I chose, and there doesn't appear to be a way for me change it.

Oh well. Hopefully it won't take too long for it to be delivered.

It's true

Having a bookshelf block the furnace to my room had definitely made the room cooler. Today's weather is almost as hot as it was two/three weeks ago, and my room is nowhere near as hot as it was back then, even without using the AC.

Gas price for premium today: $2.179

That's twice now

Mozilla crashed on me while using Edmunds.com today. Wonder what could be causing the problem.

So, since it crashed, my favicon setting wasn't kept. Gonna have to do a restart to make sure the setting was saved.

So Greg got a new car, too...

And just like Nicole, he also got a 2000 Lexus ES 300. What are the chances?

Found out last night when I went over because Peg needed help with her wedding program, and mom needed help with her homework.

Total cost was around $20,000, but also only has around 20,000 miles, so that's a pretty good price. And I finally looked up the specs at Edmunds.com:

210 HP @ 5800 rpm
220 ft/lbs @ 4400 rpm
Curb Weight: 3373 lbs.

I wonder how much HP was added due to the VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing - Intelliget). Anyway, a quick comparison with my car, based on the factory specs:

200 HP @ 5500 rpm
205 ft/lbs @ 4500 rpm
Curb Weight: 3053 lbs.

So I guess the extra weight is probably what made it feel not as powerful as my car. Though the intake in my car must make a difference, too. The new GTS has 210 HP because of its MVIM (Mitsubishi Variable Induction Management) intake, and has a curb weight of 3307 lbs.

Weird cell phone problem

Apparently my cell phone had stopped working since at least last Saturday. Mom's tried calling me twice during the weekend, while none of my weather updates (text message) came through the phone. I thought it was a bit strange that I didn't get my weather update like usual this morning, but that happens from time to time.

Then Mike called the office phone, because he tried to call my cell phone three times, and couldn't get through. I tried to call the voice message center, and couldn't through. So the only thing left to try was to turn the phone off, and then back on again (classic Windoze fix).

Then it worked.

Cleaned keyboard

Brought along with me some cotton balls, q-tips, and rubbing alcohol to work. Spent the good part of the morning cleaning the keyboard. Much better now, though I wish I can take it apart and get to the insides.

The soda I got from Yoshinoya is kind of leaking, so I'll probably have to clean the cup holder in my car. I'll have to remember to check it when I leave work today.

Computer upgrade

Went to Fry's and got myself a new video card yesterday... NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500, 256MB, 8x AGP. Big difference from what I had before (NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440, 64MB, 4x AGP). But my motherboard only supported up to 4x AGP, so Donald convinced me to switch to his old mobo and CPU.

Only problem was with stupid M$ Windows, which refused to recognize the new mobo and wouldn't boot. Ended up having to reinstall Windows (again). It's like everytime I upgrade, I have to reinstall. *#&$*@*7

Got most things back now, though for some strange reason, I can't log into Earthlink's webmail with Firefox. Was fine with Mozilla, though.

Yup, it's a sales gimmick

Drove over to Durate/Freeway Mitsubishi in repsonse to their "Vehicle Buy-Back" letter.

Based on the way the sales guy asked his questions, there can be no doubt that they're not really looking for any specific types of cars to buy back, but just want to get people into their lot and consider a trade-in for a new car.

Said they'd buy it for around $10,000, which, having just checked Edmunds, is pretty good for a dealer trade-in, which is typically around $8,142, with a private sale at around $9,535.

But that's not taking into account of the accident I had, which I'm sure would drop the price considerably. But it's not like the sales guy looked at my car in great detail, so that was just a quick estimate.

GMail notify

GMail notify stopped working for me today, both at work and at home, so I checked its homepage. Sure enough, a new version has been out for a while.

Installed it, and now it works fine.

Got another letter from Mitsubishi

The local dealership, Freeway/Duarte Mitsubishi, apparently wants to buy back 2000 Eclipses, and has sent me another letter to that effect.

It doesn't seem likely that they'll be able to offer me a deal that I would really like, but this time they say that they will give me free Vegas vouchers for just coming in, so I guess I'll stop by tomorrow afternoon to see what they have to say.

(Ideally, if they gave me a new car for my current car, it would only work if I had to pay the same or less for my monthly payment, and be paid up at or before the time I would finish the finance period of my current car.)

I just called the 800 number they listed in the letter, and got cut off when I was connected to their sales department. Oh well.

Definitely

Messed up. But stuff like this has happened before. Became okay again after a few days. Maybe Blogger is updating their code?

Hmm

Publish button seems to be messed up for Firefox 0.9.3 right now. Testing...

H&R Block

Got reply from H&R Block. Said there's a link for looking at and printing past years' tax returns.

How did I miss this link before?


Cleaned the printer nozzle, then printed the tax return copy out. Sending it out to the IRS. Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

Doom 3

Just played Doom 3 for a bit. Accidently shot the guy I wanted to talk to. But of course my system is a bit too old for the game, barely passing the minimum requirements. It still runs, but my guess is that when "all hell breaks loose" things will probably get really slow.

New versions of Mozilla and Firefox

Just installed the latest versions of Mozilla and Firefox (1.7.2 and 0.9.3, respectively). Had to reinstalled some of the extensions for Mozilla, but so far I think all of the extensions for Firefox have kept.

GMail

Decided to check GMail's spam folder today, just in case H&R Block's reply to me gets filtered.

No message from H&R Block, but two Evite messages. One is apparently from Rickie, the other is probably Greg's bestman for the wedding.

Now, we wait...

Called HP/Compaq's parts support line, after talking with Vivian to see what her thoughts are about JJ's DVD-ROM situation. The support guy gave me an RMA number and the shipping location, so we're going to send the DVD-ROM back to them.

H&R Block's "Talk to a Tax Expert" used whatever form they had to say that it's a technical issue, and that I should use their Customer Support form to get my answers. And because it was a technical issue, I would not be charged the $19.95 for their "Tax Expert" service. Good. I never thought it was fair that I'd have to pay for them to perform a service they should have performed when they took my money in the first place. I still have to wait for them to contact me again, though.

Drove to the Alhambra/San Gabriel District Office for AAA, and spoke with one of their insurance agents. They will send out my information to MMCA. Apparently MMCA changed their P.O. box. Also got my updated (temporary) insurance card.

When it rains, it pours

Ugh. Not only do I have to get in touch with AAA Insurance so that they can send the information to Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America, I just got a letter from the IRS stating that they didn't get my tax information for 2002 (which I always suspected as much).

So now I have to also get in touch with H&R Block, since they've already charged me for the filing of my 2002 taxes, but apparently never sent the file along to the IRS. Just effin' great.


As it turns out, the DVD-ROM that I had JJ order is the wrong one. Now what?

Oops!

I just realized before leaving for lunch today that I forgot to give the rent check to Tom yesterday. I'll have to remember to do so tonight when I get back.

I'll also need to remember to pick up some more rubbing alcohol... the current bottle is running low, especially after I used it to soak-clean my toothbrush.

They changed the broken fluorescent bulb in my office over the weekend, only to have me come back from getting lunch to find that the other fluorescent bulb is now broken.

Forgot to bring MMCA's letter regarding my insurance information again. I'll have to get in touch with AAA Insurance soon.... and they never bothered to return my call. >:[

It's August!

Well, duh.

Today (technically, yesterday) I switched to the new set of contacts for the month, as I had planned. Only problem was that I seem to have placed my right eye's contact backwards, as it felt a bit weird even after hours of wear and many eye drops later. Since I was in the movie theater watching The Bourne Supremecy, I couldn't just change it. When I was done with the movie, I came home and flipped it, and voila! No more weird feeling.

Met with Inez at her shop, and then went with her, Mayu, and Mayu's sister Yuki to dinner at Regent Cafe. Yuki is on vacation from University of Texas, San Antonio.

I should get to sleep and try to get up earlier for work tomorrow.

My room is cooler

I think a combination of this week not being as hot as the previous, the Yu Yu Hakusho wall scroll I've now got hanging on my window, and a bookshelf blocking the furnace, has really made my room much cooler than it had been last week.

There's no doubt that the furnace being blocked must be a contributing factor to the lower temperature in my room. The question is--how much of an influence was that furnace? I'll have to wait til the temperature is up in the mid 90's again to truly know the effects.

Whatever the result, it almost goes without saying that now, when it gets cold, my room will be much colder than it had been before.

I must seem like an easy mark

Went to Little Tokyo and Santa Monica with Nicole, Adeline, and Nicole's nieces today. When I got back, I decided to go fill up my car, and to clean my windshield while that happens.

Just as I've set the nozzle, a car drives past me and stops, the occupants of the car were kind of staring at me. As I walk around to get paper towel out of my seat, the driver of the car approaches me, and asks me what kind of cologne I wear... and proceeds to try and sell me cologne.

Along with her flattery, I easily and quickly bought a bottle of the cologne she was selling. So maybe somehow, they can just tell when some people are sitting ducks. Last time some dude approached me trying to sell me a sofa and love-seat set.

These days, I'm too cynical to believe that she truly meant whatever compliments she gave me.