Wherever I May Roam

Got My MacBook Pro Back, But I Have a New Problem

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:22:43 +0000

I am very impressed with how quickly I got my MacBook Pro back. And only having to drive 10 minutes as opposed to an hour to Syracuse makes me very happy as well!

I do have a new symptom now, however : The fans are stuck on at 100% – 6,000 RPMs. This is obviously quite audible and I’m sure isn’t the greatest for them. I have tried resetting PRAM as well as SMC and to no avail. Google searches bring up nothing useful. I will have to stop buy the computer store once again…

MacBook Pro NVIDIA Graphics Card Failure

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:08:20 +0000

Ever since I got my MacBook Pro in the Fall of 2007, it has served me without any errors. This weekend, however, things changed. I turned on the MacBook in the morning and the screen would not come on. I restarted the computer, and the same thing happened. I immediately started to panic and started Googling various queries (i.e. “macbook pro black screen on startup“). Nearly ever result pointed towards a failed logic board – a $1,000 repair. This was, to say the least, not reassuring.

That was when I happened up this page on the Apple support website. Apparantly, there are some issues with the NVIDIA graphics cards in the MacBook Pros manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008 – which is when I bought mine.

Seeing as how the nearest Apple store is an hour away, I dropped my MBP off at Connecting Point, a certified Apple repair shop which is local. They are currently running a diagnostic on the computer to see if that is indeed the problem. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed…

I Never Enjoyed Killing

admin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:42:31 +0000

I’ve never in my life gotten pleasure out of kiling living things. I can respect and appreciate people who hunt, especially when it is not just for ’sport’ and they actually make venison out of it. Once, when I was about 13, my dad handed me a rifle and told me it was my job to kill the groundhog that was digging holes in our lawn. I was incredibly excited. I waited for that sucker with my eye in the scope. He finally made his appearance. I pulled the trigger, and he immediately started spasming in wild excitement. My father instructed me that it would take another shot to finish him. I aimed, steadied, and pulled the trigger again. The spasming stopped. It was then my job to get rid of the body. I walked over to the dead groundhog and stared in horror at what I had done. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. I cried.

Yesterday I was putting shingles on the roof of the chicken coop when I noticed some wasps moving in to a hive. Two of them were mating, which I found midly interesting. It was like those shows you see on the Discovery Channel. However, I am petrified of flying insects. I found the wasp killer and soaked the hive. I was pleased with myself until I saw their dead bodies dropping from the nest. I felt like a murderer. What had I just done to them? Who said that they didn’t have the right to be there? It’s unfortunate that their lives had to be brought to an end simply because they were an “inconvenience” to me…

The Word Is Out

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:28:33 +0000

I set up the first bird feeder at my new house… And the word is officially out! The first bird to stop by was a White Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). Here are some photos:

I can’t wait to see and photograph the variety of birds that stop by for a quick treat!

Modernizing The Home

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:26:22 +0000

So, my dad and I recently got a dishwasher in our house. It is amazing how one simple appliance can change your life. The dishes used to be a task that my dad and I absolutely dreaded and avoided. I feel so blessed to now have this “modern” technology. We load it full of our nasty, dirty dishes, push some buttons, and walk away, only to come back later to perfectly clean dishes. Simply incredible!

I do have to admit, however, that I am spoiled by the dishwasher – I obviously could do the dishes by hand for the rest of my life. I would have to assume that a dishwasher is much more efficient, though.

Easter

admin — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:11:39 +0000

Easter has come and gone. I had a nice weekend in Cooperstown with my mom, my sister, and her friend Jolie. The three of them arrived on Friday from New York City and we all went our separate ways today. We attended the Easter service at Christ Episcopal Church in Cooperstown. Although I do not regularly attend church, I still thought it was a lovely service. It has one of those European cathedral type sanctuaries. During the sermon, I stared in amazement over the ornate architecture. It is simply gorgeous.

Now that the weekend is over, I can let out a huge sigh of relief. Both my mom and my dad know about my sleeve now, and, well… I’m not dead, they haven’t disowned me… Life goes on!

Although I sincerely wish my mom would just sell that house already (no one currently lives in it, we just use it for family gatherings) it is quite nice to be able to escape to the middle of nowhere. The house has such a charm and whim to it, thanks to my mom’s designs and remodels. It looks like something out of a “Good Housekeeping” magazine. You just want to curl up in the bay window with a good book and tea! I technically live “in the country” now, but that house is literally in the middle of nowhere. There is a certain peace of mind that is much easier to attain there.

Zen Pastures Blog Launched

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:06:06 +0000

I’ve finally launched the blog for my micro farm, “Zen Pastures.” It is located over at blog.zenpastures.com.

Updates regarding my chickens and etc will most likely be over there from now on!

My, How They’ve Grown!

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:53:45 +0000

It is incredible to me how fast chickens grow. In my last post, the chickens were these tiny little creatures. Now it seems as if they are big birds that I can no longer fit within the grasp of my two hands!

Their coop is complete, which I am very happy about. The chickens now have a warm and safe place to sleep at night! It is actually a resin garden shed from Lowe’s that I am converting into a coop. I have a makeshift roost which works for the time being, and I will eventually install some nesting boxes!

I will most likely order some day-old chicks in late winter, that way I can start them off in a brooder indoors and then mid-spring move them outside when they are old enough. When all is said and done, I hope to have about 10 laying chickens. This way I have enough eggs to sell and still end up with some for myself.

Hens or Roosters?

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:36:07 +0000

I understood when I bought my chicks that they were too young to be sexed. This means of course that there is a 50% chance that any of them could be male or female. The woman I bought them from was pretty certain that I was receiving four females… I posted photos of the chicks on BackyardChickens.com and the results are not good! Several of the members are pretty sure I have a couple roosters. I am not entirely opposed to the idea of keeping roosters, but I’m sure the neighbors would file complaints over the crowing. And besides, I want edible eggs, not more chicks!

Chickens on the Micro-Farm

admin — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:30:54 +0000

Raising hens for eggs has long been a fantasy of mine. My fantasy is now a reality! I picked up four chickens from a lovely family in Greene, NY. I purchased 2 Black Australorp and 2 Buff Orpington for $4 each. They are about 2 weeks old. For now they are inside with a 250w heat lamp, but once they have a full set of feathers they will be (almost) free range outside. Once I have the coop under construction, I will post photos of my coop and run. For now, some photos of the chicks: