Baumblog EST 1968 - A blog for the Baumbachs who originated in Syracuse, NY

Wonder what eats all the electrical power in your house?
posted by GJ on December 28, 2006 @ 10:54AM

This article is rather enlightening.

Christmas Carols for the DSM-IV
posted by GJ on December 27, 2006 @ 2:51AM

Stolen from Orac, here's the Christmas Carols for the DSM-IV:

Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas

Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Busses and Trucks and Trees and.....

Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Ji ngle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle

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Geoff, said you wanted silverware...
posted by Steve on December 25, 2006 @ 4:31PM

Here's a link to some cheap silverware.

Here's a link telling you why the silverware above, while sterling silver, is not the highest quality, so you might want to wait and find some 18/10 stainless steel silverware.

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Merry Christmas!
posted by GJ on December 25, 2006 @ 9:45AM

See, even we evil non-believer types can say this! :)

Anyhow, we had yet another interesting sump pump adventure this morning--will fill you in when we come out later this week.

And you have got to try Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Wii...it's hilarious!

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Think Scientology is harmless?
posted by GJ on December 23, 2006 @ 4:25PM

They're evil!

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Travel Status
posted by GJ on December 23, 2006 @ 11:41AM

GJ and company are not coming out until New Year's Weekend--we'll arrive Thursday night next week.

We'll have the Wii in tow, along with WiiSports and perhaps some other multiplayer games that you may find amusing. We'll also bring the party game Apples to Apples (we got the AtoA card expansion the other day).

And of course, we'll bring some cookies and fudge. Maybe this year it will even be the consistency of fudge, instead of concrete like last year!

See you all next week!

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Is Microsoft Vista a RipOff of Mac OS X?
posted by GJ on December 18, 2006 @ 4:14PM

You be the judge--watch here

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DVD-ROM Acting up
posted by Steve on December 17, 2006 @ 8:46PM

Ok, first, thanks for the input about the SCCA website.

Now, my next issue. My DVD player/burner is acting up. It takes a long time to recognize DVDs when I put them in the player. Also, when I try to make legal back up copies of DVDs I own, it almost immediately fails. Now, I put a DVD in that I own that I have previously backed up, just to see if there is something wrong with my computer, and I can't even back that one up. Any ideas? Is it possible that somehow my computer has been infected with some crap from the internet that is screwing up my drive?

It doesn't only affect DVDs. When I put one of my games in, now it takes a long time for it to recognize the game. Usually, it takes 10 seconds or so, now it's more like a minute. Help please, this is driving me nuts.

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GJ said about 1 hour later

There is a bug in a certain piece of anti-piracy software (called a root kit) that will kill the performance of a CD or DVD player / burner.

The piece of shit software is called StarForce. It is commonly found on games published by European publishers...at least, it was over the past two years. User reaction to it has been almost 100% negative, and now very few big publishers will touch it.

So, Steve--did you install any games with StarForce? You'd know it--the game would have forced a restart after installation.

If not, it could well be another root kit doing something similar. I'd rebuild the OS before bothering to go get another drive--especially when a new drive may have the same problem shortly after installation. :)
Steve said about 3 hours later

Grrrrrr.....

Yes, I have recently installed GT Legends and a GTR2 Demo. I think one or both of these have the Starforce protection. Yes, both games are from Europe.

So, anyway to get rid of it, or do I have to reslam the computer? And if I have to reslam it, do I have to reslam all of my drives (two drives, main one for OS, second big one partitioned into three), or just the drive with the OS on it? And reformat the drive, or just uninstall and reinstall the OS?

I'd love to know how they are allowed to install software on your computer that affects it's performance for things other than the specific game that it's trying to protect. I love those games, but I'm not willing to turn my computer into a POS just to play the games.

Stupid question, but I have to ask. Would removing just the game get rid of the Starforce crap? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but it's a lot easier than any of the other options.
Steve said about 3 hours later

Disregard my previous note. Thanks to wikepedia, I found a way to eliminate the Starforce drivers, and everything seems to be ok now. Only problem is, every time I go to play the game, the drivers will be reinstalled, so I'll have to wipe them off after every time I play. I guess GT Legends will be dropping off my favorite game list now...

Time to drag Xbox out of the closet...
GJ said about 12 hours later

Yeah, StarForce sucks. To their credit, though, they offer a de-install script on their website that does remove it completely.

I wouldn't recommend doing the reinstall / deinstall of the game every time you play it. You're better off bugging the publisher to see if they can offer you a StarForce-free copy of the game, saying that you had to deinstall the game to get rid of a DVD-rom bug that showed up on your machine thanks to SF, and now you are stuck with broken software that you cannot run but really want to.
Steve said about 21 hours later

The game manufacturer has already come out and said they will not offer the game without Starforce. A lot of people complained about it, mostly because they can't make a no-CD crack for it to make it less of a hassle to play.

I don't have to uninstall the game, just the drivers. Well, that's what I think anyway, haven't played it since.

Ok, Computer guys, need some help here
posted by Steve on December 14, 2006 @ 4:16PM

I am part of a team that is looking to take start a new website for the Detroit Region SCCA. The people we currently pay to do the website do a crappy job, and charge lots of money for it.

So, one of the local guys has offered to set up a basic structure for a new website, and let us fill it up with whatever we want.

He's proposing we set this up using e107 CMS. I have VERY limited knowledge, but it appears that this is a fairly user friendly set up, that you don't need to be a tech geek to modify or update the website.

What do you guys think? Is e107 a pretty good system to use?

Here's what we would want to be able to host. First, a kinda typical website, with links to schedules, articles, and stuff like that. I'd also want a forums area. Finally, I'd like a pictures area as well.

On that note, do you guys have favorite programs to use for forums and picture hosting? I've played around a little bit with phpBB, but haven't spent anytime with other forum programs, or really with any picture hosting programs.

I'm just looking for any input from you computer guys out there that would make our lives a little easier.

Oh, by the way, you can see the crappy website we currently have here.

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Public Service Message
posted by GJ on December 8, 2006 @ 11:26AM

Please, please, please....do NOT ever, ever, EVER get back in your car while filling the gas tank. Also do not leave the door open as an inviting temptation.

Here's why.

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