Category: Uncategorized
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There is a thing I never heard of called “kernal panic.” This is a term to describe a sudden, terrifying system failure that can happen to a Mac. We’ve all heard of the “blue screen of death.” Well, this is the Mac version, also known as the “black screen of death” and yesterday, I experienced it first hand, and I have to say, it was way more dramatic that what happens to a PC when it crashes.
I had just begun to work when a semi-transparent gray veil slowly fell over the image. It dropped from the top of the monitor and smoothly scrolled down over the display, like a curtain over a stage. Then the words (in four languages). Here’s an image of what I saw:
A most shocking computer crash! I shut the machine down. Restarted. Blackness. Nothing but blackness. No startup noises, no wiring of the fan, nothing. I ran from my office, banged on the bathroom door (brni was showering) and told him I needed him right away.
Some might think I overreacted, but I have over 7000 image files that I was convinced I’d lost. I hadn’t done a full backup since December, and only one minor backup for the job I’m working on a few days ago. So, this was a majorly HUGE loss.
Thinking back a day later, it’s quite amazing to me how panicked I was. How the breaking of a computer, an appliance, a tool, could cause a reaction akin to a medical emergency or the death of a loved one.
After Brni valiantly tried to perform Mac-CPR on the thing, he declared it thoroughly dead. There was nothing to do but rip the hard drive from it’s gaping belly and run to the Mac store to see if we could salvage my files. An hour later, we were home with a shiny new iMac and this cute little case that looked just like a tiny Mac Pro in which we placed the disembodied hard drive in, basically turning it into an external drive. My files were all there!
So, a warning to all Mac owners: back up on an external drive every day and make portable backups to DVD as often as you need. Oftener even. And, BUY THE 3 YEAR WARRANTY!
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Decided that I needed not to do a whole lot this weekend. I didn’t even draw, though I thought a lot about drawing. We actually went out Saturday evening to see our friend, Bruce in concert. He’s one of the drummers for PlasmaDance Theater’s Megamorphosis. The show was wonderfully fun, a sort of combination rock concert, modern dance, drumming circle.
Apparently, they’ve done the Philly Fringe Festival but I don’t know if they intend on being there this year. If you get a chance to see them, GO! and bring a drum or rattle or tambourine, or just your dancing shoes.
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ok…just this one more, then i’ll stop.
So on the TV “news” last week, one of the stories was about school closings to try and stop the spread of the mild but dreaded swine flu. What do the brilliant parents arrange for the kids? PLAY DATES! Yes, yes, we get all the kids together in the park, or at someone’s house and have them all tumble around together, share food and drink out of the same cups. I don’t even want to think of all the tweens and teens prowling the malls and food courts.
stupid humans.
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Let me preface this by saying that I’m old and survived the first wave of swine flu that hit in the late 50’s. I also survived the Hong Kong flu in the late 60’s and pretty much all the regular influenza epidemics that happen every winter, either by not getting it (the usual for me) or getting it and not dying. What did almost kill me was the measles, but that’s a different story.
anyway…
Forgive me for not being properly terrified by this current pandemic. In fact, forgive me for being highly amused by the media hype and government published guidelines on how to wash my hands and take my vitamins. But really, I just can’t help it. Let me relay two examples that I found exceedingly silly.
Last week the evening news reported on many school closings. In one story it was reported that an entire school district shut down because one student in one of the schools was diagnosed with swine flu. Tucked in with these stories was one where a family was quarantined in their house because it was confirmed that three of them had swine flu. While cameras took dramatic footage of the family’s front door, the reporter read a statement issued by the father, reassuring his neighbors that they were all okay. He said their symptoms had been mild with only slight fever, mild sore throats, dry cough and minor muscle aches. After three days they were all feeling much better.
Yes, this made the evening news–three people are all better.
But it gets even better. A friend of mine, a vegan with a good heart, forwarded me an announcement regarding the swine flu telling me to read it through carefully, even though the content was quite technical. Uh, ok….I’ll try.
Here’s the beginning of the forwarded email:
Dear Friend,
Although everything is possible, the emergence of the swine flu pandemic can only happen if this is a genetically engineered virus. As in the past with the avian flu pandemic in limiting serious amounts of the population, we pray this will also fail.
There is one of the 72 names pronounced: nun lamed kaf, which is specific for nullifying plagues. Gabriel encourages all people who get this to spend a little bit of time each day repeating this mantra with visualizations of this virus dying out and their attempt at creating a pandemic failing and visualizing the whole world being healthy and happy.
The previous protocol for protecting against the viral flu that the Tree of Life has put out in the past is very effective against this human bird swine flu and for protecting the immune system combined with adequate sleep, live food, good hydration, and a loving attitude. This protocol applies to building the immune system against all flus.
Previous vaccination programs have been between 0 and 14% effective according to the CDC and 1% effective according to Israli research. Israeli research has also shown that vaccinations compromise the immune system. Research at John’s Hopkins over a 10-year period showed that 5 consecutive flu vaccinations resulted in 10 times greater amounts of Alzheimer’s Disease, which fits with research by Russell Blaylock M.D. Neuro Surgeon, which suggests that one single vaccination can cause brain inflammation that can last up to 2 years.
Gabriel recommends people have some level of preparedness and in advance an overall flu protocol. Gabriel also recommends getting a bio-photon machine, which neutralizes viruses and vaccinations. These are available through the Tree of Life Dispensary.
The very first sentence sent my coffee right out my nose. After I’d wiped the monitor off, I read on, realizing that not only is this an amazing conspiracy theory, but this dude can sell me everything I need to survive the flu! The protocol that he’s come up goes something like this…
Eat 80-100% raw foods with periodic fasting. Drink “green drinks” and eat 16 cacao beans a day. He goes on to list 26 supplements (all available from his “dispensary”) all of which have different dosage requirements. One of the supplements is “rectal ozone” which you must take once a day.
I gagged this last one out to Brni between fits of hysterical laughter and he said, “hmmm…so you have to blow smoke up your ass?”
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Today was exciting! I started a new ceramics class called “Raku Madness.” I was given my first lesson on the wheel and managed to throw 8 very tiny, somewhat lopsided pots. Feeling disappointed in my output, I was assured that I did very well for a first attempt. I’m not so sure, but pottery people are very kind and I decided to accept their kind words as true.
I also finished a small clay rabbit that I started yesterday, which will take a good long while to dry out before I can put it in the kiln. Normally, you need to hollow them out, but my teacher thinks it’s small enough that it won’t explode as long as it’s very very dry.
At the end of class, we all clean up the work area so that it’s ready for the next group. I noticed that everyone put their stool upside-down on top of the wheel and then the foot pedal in the stool. What I didn’t notice is that they turn the pedal switch off before picking it up. Yes, yes, when I touched the pedal, the wheel started spinning and the stool went flying off! Luckily, it hit my hip and ricocheted to the ground rather than flying off into the other students behind me.
Anyway, I think this will be a really fun class (as long as the stools stay put).
Croneswood Art 