recycle your bottles

Reynolds Recycling, one of the state's largest recyclers of deposit beverage containers, has begun accepting and paying for glass containers not marked HI-5 now that the city is paying recyclers more for handling nondeposit glass.

Reynolds will pay 4 cents a pound for nondeposit, clean, empty, unbroken glass bottles and jars at any of its 33 Oahu redemption centers. That goes for everything from wine and hard-liquor bottles to jelly and cosmetic jars.

A champagne bottle weighs about 2 pounds, and an average wine bottle about 1.6 pounds.

power, then no power, then power, etc.

Here's an odd one.

I took home Florida's computer which they said wouldn't boot. I plugged it in and as I soon as I plugged in the power cord the thing powered up! (Didn't press the power button.)

So all seemed well. I then saw the thing had only 256MB of memory. It turns out it took DDR memory and I found I had a 128MB module available and inserted it.

Plug everything back in and no power! OK, now I see their problem.

Remove the added memory. Still no power.

OK, unplug it. And put back the other computer.

A day or so later, I try plugging it in again and it worked!

OK, try shut down. Pull out the power cord. Wait a couple of minutes. Plug in the power cord again. Doesn't power up again!

Dunno. Maybe it's the power supply?

I guess I can try put in another. Or just wait until the next day and try again.

Stay tuned..

3D without glasses

Introducing the Nintendo 3DS

looking for memory for slow computer

I notice computers running slower and slower these days. Including my own.

They still run into performance problems even after I reinstall Windows (usually XP), though it seems better for a while.

I think the problem was that these computers used to be acceptably fast when they first came out, but that Microsoft kept putting more and more junk into XP so that it taxes the system and it starts to run out of memory (and so goes to the hard drive to use virtual memory). That's my guess anyway.

So now I'm looking to upgrade memory.

A "standard" site to buy memory from seems to be crucial.com. They have a neat system scanner that scans your system, tells you what you have in your system, and makes recommendations on what to buy.

For example, my current system is a Dell Dimension 2400 with two memory modules (one 256MB and one 128MB, both DDR 2700). According to the scanner, "Each memory slot can hold DDR PC2700, DDR PC3200 with a maximum of 1GB per slot." That's good to know.

What's the difference between PC2700 and PC3200? (Shows you how out of touch I am these days.) The speed. PC3200 is the faster speed with peak transfer rate of 3200MB per second.

Let's see. Crucial is selling the 1GB module for $46.99.

[a couple days later -- actually the key to notice is DDR which stands for Double-Data Rate. I now see it's different than the old SIMMs. I assume the old SIMMs must be SDRAM (single data rate) See below.]

On ebay, I see two 512MB modules for $23.88. Only PC2100 DDR. Hey half price. 2GB for $54.48. Darn, free shipping only to 48 states.

OK, ramhut sells 1GB PC2700 for $38.95. $34.90 starting bid. I dunno. I might spring for the extra $8 and buy from Crucial.

deedan92: two 512MB modules for $24.88 (used).

fsgw: PC3200 1GB DDR SDRAM 1 GB PC 3200 DDR400 1G RAM 184 pin for $14.99 plus $6.99 shipping. So $21.98. Doesn't state compatibility though.

***

[1/20] Looking to pop in more memory into Florida's computer which has only 256MB. I notice it takes DDR memory too. I found a 128MB DDR module (I think from Tanaka) and I notice it's physically different from the myriad other SIMMs that I have lying around. OK, so much for upgrading all these computers. [Ugh, popped it in anyway and now Florida's computer doesn't power up. I guess that was the original problem.]

Steve Jobs to take another medical leave

Steve Jobs, the iconic chief executive of Apple who has battled serious health problems for years, said Monday that he is taking another medical leave of absence, raising questions about whether the country's most highly valued technology company can prosper without its leader.

The announcement that the creator of the iPod, iPhone and iPad would step aside - without revealing the extent of his medical problems or how long he'll be on leave - prompted criticism from some analysts that Apple was betraying its obligations to tell its shareholders important information.

Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer and recipient of a liver transplant, two conditions known to cause a variety of complications, sent a message to Apple employees Monday saying that the company's board "granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health." He added that he would continue to be involved in major decisions but would give up day-to-day control.

Since founding Apple in 1976, Jobs has been known for a nearly fanatical attention to detail - caring as much about the appearance of his products as how they function - that makes him unique among many technology executives.

He has fostered a culture at Apple that has allowed the company, which was months from bankruptcy in 1997 when he returned to the helm after a long hiatus, to edge out bigger rivals and dominate the market for smartphones and music players.

hitman pro

adding another item to my toolbox

was getting redirects on google searches (among other problems) even after running malwarebytes. Microsoft Security Essentials was terminating before completion.

Found hitman pro from this thread

cleared up the redirect problem (and other problems as well including the MSE problem).

However there was still one particularly stubborn file that hitman identified as malware but couldn't delete even on reboot.

Tried deleting manually from safe mode with no success.

Finally tried moveonboot and moved it to another folder (probabably could have deleted it too, but I wanted to have a sample of it around - but come to think of it, that probably was not a good idea).