Fourth of January 2026 Update

 I'll try not to make this a long, rambling post. Promise

2025 was not kind to us, at all. I was sick with a 13mm gallstone, despite not having a gall bladder. Yeah. Spent a week in the hospital, then twelve days getting an infusion series for sepsis. Not fun. Then I had the long COVID, and I was not fully recovered when Mrs. Meig'h came down with Meningitis. She spent several weeks in a hospital and a rehab facility. Basically learning to use her body again. Once she was home, I ran myself ragged, taking care of her and the house. I had help from my daughters but still, it ran me ragged, which leads to now. I am certainly not up to my A game, probably not to my Z game level, to be truthful.  I'm pretty sure this is the lingering effects of COVID, so when and if I recover, we don't know.

As an aside, My computers do not run Redmond products, except in a Virtual Machine. I need Win10 so I can connect with the servers to upload my Freestyle Libre II glucose monitor. I also need WinXP Pro SP3 to run my greeting card/calendar/business card/etc. software. I'm also trying to fudge some games on there, too. BTW, I run Linux Mint 22 for an OS and Oracle VirtualBox for a VM. It just seems to work. And it's supported by a great group of people on a forum. and it's free.

Anyway, I'll cut this off here, and come back in a few to update things. Take care, all.

Kel 

First Of December 2024 Update

 Here we are, the Second day of December. Overnight low of 16℉,  might make 30℉ today if we're lucky. Thank goodness we have a decent boiler for the steam heat.

So, Window$ 10 Home was evicted from my main computer that now runs Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon desktop. No more having Micro$oft badger me to upgrade or doing things like installing Copilot without asking. I understand that was a one-time mistake by the Redmond gang, so You may not get that "upgrade" on your Win10 box.

My writing has come to an impasse that I just can't seem to break through. I'm not sure what the issue is, I just don't feel motivated to do any writing of any form at the moment. I also have the same problem with my guitar building. There are six guitars that are basically not started and a seventh that was torn down for repairs that has been sitting for months. I guess it's a general malaise that I'm suffering from. Who knows.

The coming new year; The missus and I would like to do more than we have in the past. Camping, traveling, things like that. To do that, we need a good vehicle to get around in. That means I need to get my butt in gear and start collecting parts to put our low mileage Ford Explorer back on the road. I also need to work on the house, get some things squared away in the domicile.

That's all for now, I'll be back later in the month with some more ramblings.

Kel

It's Been A While

 It's been a while. Really. The last post was over two years ago, and I was still working out the finger affected by surgery for Dupuytren's Contracture. Well, things have gone pretty good, I would say. I have about 90% of full mobility of that finger, which is fine by me. At least I can type again without much trouble.

My future plans are to dump Window$ fully in the next month or so. Anyone still using Window$ 10 will know how they are being nagged by M$ to upgrade to Window$ 11. Well I ain't going there. I'm moving to Linux Mint for my OS of choice. I am through with Micro$oft wanting to spy on me, selling my data to the highest bidder. Linux Mint 22, or even Mint 21.3 is a more than adequate replacement for any Window$ variant. No spyware. No nagging to upgrade. No need to restart after updates. Most gaming supported on Steam. Yeah.

I'll type some more as I have time in the coming week. Until then, stay safe.

Kel

Hand Surgery and Follow-Up

 I did not post here at the time but I had hand surgery on my right little finger August 4th of this year. It was needed since I could not open that finger more than half-way. Made for interesting typing, for sure.

Surgery went good, according to my doctor and ehab by a therapist went as well as could be expected. It's been over two months since I went to my first rehab appointment and I would put recovery at maybe 80% or so. Now the rehab is on me to make headway on recovering that last 20% of motion range. Final report from the doctor was it was a tumor, scar tissue from past surgeries and yes, Dupuytren's Contracture. It may come back but hopefully that is long after I quit writing.

I will be trying to post Chapter 7 of "Rift" soon.

Kel

Chapter 6 of "Rift"

 It would seem that I have been remiss in keeping my blog current. As such, I apologize. If you go to the page for the tome "Rift," you will see we're up to chapter 6. Please emjoy.

The Tome "Rift"

Kel

Here's The Sequel "Rift"

 Well, here it is, "Rift," the sequel to the tome "Scribe." I hope you all enjoy the ride!

Kel

(Rant) My Dealings With California Department Of Motor Vehicles, Long Distance

 California Department Of Motor Vehicles, otherwise known as a Portal To Hell on the mortal plane-

When I moved from Kalifornistan, I thought we had the title to all of our cars. Well, that wasn't so. Apparently, the lien holders of our Ford Explorer never sent it to us before they were bought up by another company back in 2012. Had to go get a release from said new company (huge pain), then a "Same As" statement that said the old company and new company were one and the same (another huge pain). Needed to get a second photo ID card to satisfy CA DMV requirements of two photo ID's, so that meant getting a passport (pain in the ass #3). Finally get all the paperwork together, notarized which was a pain (#4) due to Covid-19, sent said paperwork to those Minions of Satan in Cali. Two months later (July 7th), they send the paperwork back, "Hey, you didn't fill out part G of form 256." Bastards. Fukkin Bastards.

So, filled out forms to their satisfaction, sent them off again today. That's now $47 for Cali and $9.90 X 2 for the USPS to send it off priority second day just for a fukkin title. I just can't express how angry and depressed getting that stupid piece of paperwork has made me. Here in Indiana, you can forget about registering a vehicle if you don't have the title. And of course, dealing with California DMV through the mail, over the phone or through a chat room is just shy of a lost cause. It took two days to get to talk to a live being this last time. Whoever programmed their "Virtual Assistant" needs to be forced to walk the length of California dragging a fifty foot heavy duty tow chain for his penance.

It was last year when we started this and this whole thing has literally sucked the life out of me. I have no more fucks to give. Considering scrapping the vehicle but I would have to cut it in half first since I have no title.

Not having a good day,

Kel, the Old Warhorse

Chapters 45 and 46 of "Scribe"

 Well, it would seem that I have brought "Scribe" to a close.

Chapter 45 - "Out In The Darkness"

Chapter 46 - "Epilogue"

And that brings us to a close. Don't worry, though. Keep an eye open for "Rift" - coming late Spring 2021

Kel

Chapter 44 of "Scribe"

Well, it would seem Jeff has a problem, a very serious one indeed. Will his One Love make it in time to help protect him? We shall see.

Chapter 44 of "Scribe" 

Enjoy!

Kel

Chapter 43 of "Scribe"

Well, Dassan is now gone from the mortal plane and I know you're probably thinking, this is a good thing. However, this mystery femme is now in the mix, the one that was the end to Saar Trent'lan's life. There are a number of questions that need to be answered and things just might hit a bump in the road or two.

Chapter 43 of "Scribe" 

Enjoy!

Kel

New Chapter Of "Scribe"

 Well, I guess it's time to roll this one out;

Chapter 42 of "Scribe"

Hope y'all enjoy this one. Just one more (maybe) after this chapter and we're done. What come after? Why, another story in the "Scribe" universe, Silly!

Have a safe week,

Kel

A True Workaround For My Games

 When we last posted, there were no clear workarounds for my gaming dilemma. Well, sevral days later, I couldn't get my laptop to read a CD that I had burned myself about a year ago. Alas, I was thinking my optical drive had lunched itself. I was right.

It was cheap enough so I ordered a replacement drive from Amazon the seller was ECOMPUTER SYS. Took all of 10 minutes to change out the drive and put my bezel on it. Now I was able to install a program that would not read in my old drive. I'm happy, $33.00 USD later.

That's all for now,

Kel

New Chapter of "Scribe" and My DRM Workaround Failure

 To begin with, here's the new chapter of "Scribe" for your reading pleasure. We all hope things are falling together for Jeffrey and Na'Krista but you know how that goes . . .

"Chapter 41of Scribe"

So the DRM workaround, using VirtualBox on Windows 10 and in that box, Win XP Pro SP3 to run my games. Well, all was fine and dandy until the Virtualbox version of Windows went "POOF" so when it booted, it took down the whole computer. Might have been something in configuration but I'll be darned if I could figure it out. Now I'm messing around with Ubuntu 20.04 and Wine to run these games but I believe one issue I'm having is a failing CD/DVD-RW internal drive.

When the drive starts reading a disk that it can read, it spins at top speed constantly. Firmware upgrade did nothing for it. If it can't read the disk, is just stops trying after a few attempts. Sometimes, it just keeps trying forever, even making it hard to get the disk out.

So, if any of you have any answers on this, leave it in the comments section below.

That's all for now,

Kel

My Workaround For DRM Game Issues

 I had mentioned in a previous post about having issues with DRM on Windows 10. Well, I found a workaround that works well. VirtualBox and Windows XP Pro SP3. So yeah, it's not supported anymore but it works. In fact Windows XP Pro runs like a scalded dog on a 2.5Ghz machine.

To do this, first install VirtualBox. I used the one from Oracle and it works just fine. I then downloaded a Windows .iso that I installed on VirtualBox. That install (guest) will read the CD/DVD drive and a USB stick so software installs are a snap. XP Pro running on the right display, 800 x 600 at 150% scaling. Looks better than the old CTR tube displays of yesteryear.

 

So far, I've not had any problems with the install and I also loaded Linux Mint-Cinnamon 20 and Ubuntu 20.04 as virtual machines. The Linux Mint runs very smoothly but the Ubuntu has issues. I might want to try Ubuntu 18 to see if it runs any better. Have not been able to install Wine on either distro due to not giving them enough 'virtual' hdd space.

To load the USB stick with an .iso, I have been using Rufus portable 3.12 for the loader. There are numerous sites on the Intarwebs to tell you how to do the deed and the one YouTube video that shows how to load XP Pro has a link to an .iso and the key for it.

Well, that's all for now.

Kel

The Aftermath of The Upgrade

 The upgrade was completed but there was some confusion as to which verion was being installed. It turns out it was version 1909 that was dropped on my new SSD hard drive. Yeah. Not what I was expecting but ya know, it works. All except running games, that is.

It would seem Windows 10 considers Secure Loc and other types of DRM on CD/DVD not secure, a major security hole. As if Edge isn't? Anyway, going to try to install VirtualBox, then Linux Mint-Cinnamon with Wine + DirectX 9 and see if I can run a few games under a Virtual Machine. Man, this has really been an eye-opener as I have two productivity pieces of software that are now obsolete and a number of games that will not run under Windows 10 build 1909.

Still  would like the Linux Mint to get used to running a *unix type program again. That's for the day the 'tards at Redmond, Washington decide to stick their hands out, telling me Windows is now a subscription based product. Get my drift?

Anyway, that's all for now.

Kel

Window$ 10 Ver 20H2 Update

 You will remember that update I performed on my Dell 17R N7110 laptop. Well, it took about 8 (eight!) hours to get through the update without any torn out hair or thrown heavy objects.  The upgrade did get rid of the restarting problem but you know what? It's no faster than it was to begin with.

So, what does that mean? That means I will have to buy a new drive, probably a 1Tb SSD and shove it home. That also means it will be a clean install, which should be faster to boot than ever before. I hope.

Anyway, been fooling around with Ubuntu 19.04.3 LTS for a while, I'm trying to get it to run on a 16Gb USB stick with persistence so the programs Iinstall are available from any computer Irun that stick on. We shall see.

That's it for now, be safe.

Kel

Windows 10 Update 20H2

 So, I decided to do an update for my Windows 10 powered Dell 17R laptop. Probably not the wisest thing to do but I thought it might get rid of a few niggling problems with it. Such as restarting instead of shutting down like it should. I'm sure the problem was a hung update becasue on occasion it would act as if it were configuring an update. Well, if things don't get any better, iI'll put a new SSD in it and reinstall some operating system like Ubuntu. Good thing my tablet works for doing my blog. The Dell has been working on this update for four hours now. It might finish soon, though. We will see.

Anyway, I'll let y'all know tomorrow what comes of the update.

Kel

Some Rambling Thoughts

 I'm still working on the site to a degree, kind of torn as to deleting the "news" section from the index page. That's what this blog section was for so, if it stays, not sure right now.

The weather has turned here in Central Indiana so that means no more guitar painting until spring. That's a bad thing, since I have a guitar kit arriving in a few days. Guess that one will have to wait until Spring for color.

I did finish the kitchen cabinet installation by adding a bracket up top and using a method to get the screws further into the wall. The cabinet seems secure now. That means it's on to another project.

That's it for now, 

Kel

The Semi-Aftermath of My Carpentry

 Okay, so I don't think I'm a Master Yankee Carpenter, but I do know which end of the hammer to hit my thumb with. Seriously. No amount of good tools will make you a good carpenter. I rate myself just above Amateur so yeah, that's what I'm capable of.

This came about when we had a "Handyman" do some work for us before we moved in. Actually, before we moved across the country to the Midwest. Some bathroom repair work and kitchen ceiling repairs. Well, he sure didn't have a clue how to hang a kitchen cabinet. That wasn't helped out by the fact our house is all lath and plaster. Stud finders have trouble with lath and plaster so I was stuck with the old fishing with a drill bit method.

We finally got the darn thing on the wall but I'm still going to add some anchoring system of some kind. Probably some straps and moly-toggles of some size, maybe #6 or so. We will see how it turns out.

That's all for now.

Kel

More website work and some more images of Mississinewa Lake

 So I hacked on the site some more, trying to make it look more cohesive. This hasn't been easy, working with a responsive site design. There are elements that you have to keep in mind as you design the blocks that control your layout and how they transform as you go from computer screen to small computer/tablet size, then to cellphone screen size. It's a pain, short and simple. I also added some meta tags to get it noticed on the Intarwebs a bit better. Still have more to go but this is it for a few days at least.

Also, some more fall color from Mississinewa.

It's late so I'm going to leave off here.

Slainte!

Kel

(edited 10-18-2020 for bad grammar and errors)