Month: April 2011

My DSL Usage

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, LOTROLeave a comment

This May, AT&T DSL users are going to get a DSL cap (in their arse) of 150GB or 250GB for U-verse users. I thought I was going to be in trouble because I like to watch a lot of tv shows and movies on my computer and I’m also on the internet all day long so I never really had a gauge on how much internet I have been using until now.

I’ve been looking at my DSL usage every month to make sure I don’t go over 150GB because once you go over they start charging you $10 for every 50GB. The first thing that came to mind was EverQuest. When I was playing EverQuest, I was on that game for up to 16 hours a day. It was the first thing I did when I woke up and the last thing I did before I went to bed. I was a hardcore gamer. But I haven’t played it since 2008 so no problems right?

Well, I’ve been wanting to get back into it the last few months but not with EverQuest, this time with a free game but would I be screwed if all of a sudden I started playing a game that uses up a lot of internet?

Here’s my test. I started playing Lord of the Rings Online 1 month ago on 3/19/2011 and I’ve been playing practically every day since. Here in this graph you can see my data usage in mid February through mid March as 17.29GB download and 6.26 up. That was with just regular internet being on Twitter, blogging, looking at Hulu and YouTube videos, facebook, email etc.

Now look at this last month from March 17 through April 16. Not a lot of difference is there? It only went up by 3GB and the upload actually went down by 3GB which I wasn’t expecting.  I don’t really understand why my upload is so high, I mean, I never send files to anyone.  The only uploading I ever do is when I upload an image to my blog and even then it’s only a few KB here and a few KB there.  I don’t even upload videos to YouTube so that confuses me.

(I’m sure someone will explain it to me and I will feel stupid lol.)

Now keep in mind, I’m not on this game 16 hours a day. I can’t, my carpal tunnel doesn’t allow it. I mean, I’m having pain now just from typing this. I usually get on at around 10 or 11am and play until 3 to 4pm or when my hands start to hurt.

I get off the game not just because of my hands but because of my shows.  When I was playing EQ I would miss my shows every night because we were a raiding/family guild and they expected me to be on every night.  I would have to record my shows so that I could watch them later but I can’t do that anymore since the Digital Cable can block certain signals from recording.  The only way for me to do that now is if I had a DVR which I don’t so I play during the day and reserve my nighttime for my shows.  I don’t want a game to rule my life which is one of the many reasons I quit playing EQ.

So this was a good test to see how much DSL data I use every month with a game at the hours that I play.  I’m very satisfied that I won’t have to worry about going over my 150GB/mo.  I mean, I don’t care about $10 if I go over but I don’t want that hanging over my head and it won’t because I don’t use enough to ever have that problem.

As far as me playing Lord of the Rings Online, I absolutely love it.  I’m not as much of a hardcore gamer as I used to be and that’s a good thing.  Actually I start getting bored after awhile.  Yesterday I was falling asleep because I was bored with the area that I was in since I had been there for a couple of days.  I had to leave and go somewhere else to wake me up.

This game is really fun and relaxed and even though I’m already hooked on it, I don’t think it will rule me because of my hands.  So that’s a good thing.  My hands are like a timer for me.  When they start hurting, it’s time to sign off and go watch tv.

Dogwood of London

On By Michel McDonaldIn AdLeave a comment

I am a typical American.  When I think of horse stuff, I always think cowboy.  It never even occurs to me that there is an Equestrian sport.  It’s not just in England but we have it here too.  Mainly rich New York and Beverly Hills people do it though so it’s not a typical thing here.  I’m not rich so I can’t really say that I can afford it but I’m really into it if the possibility were available to me.

I was looking at the Dogwood of London website and they have every kind of Horse supplies that you could even think of and then some.  Riding boots, hats and clothes for the person then everything else for the horse.  Bridles, saddles, rugs, shoe accessories, horse boots which blew my mind.  I never even thought that a horse would need boots but apparently they need them for their tendons.  Whodathunkit?

We see a lot of movies where they are playing Polo or just out riding and not just British movies and tv shows but also here in America like in the movie Pretty Woman.  You know the famous scene in Pretty Woman where she dresses up in a really pretty dress that she got in Beverly Hills thanks to the manager at the hotel and she still gets called a whore by the other women.  Then in tv shows like Charmed, Chuck and Smallville you see some episodes where they are riding horses with all of this gear on.

I don’t know, I’ve never really been on a horse and I think that if I ever did get a chance I’d want to do it in style, not just with a cowboy hat on while yelling YEE HAW.  I’d want my first time on a horse to be special and not be such a typical American about it.

Battlestar Galactica on BBC America

On By Michel McDonaldIn TVLeave a comment

During the season premier of Doctor Who this past Saturday, BBC America played a commercial for the show Battlestar Galactica coming this summer on June 18th.  I was like whoa, I finally get a 2nd chance to watch it.

You see, I didn’t watch it when it was airing on the SyFy channel because I just had too many shows so I was purposely not watching some of the shows I really wanted to watch because it was just too overwhelming.  The issue for me was that it was on during another show and despite the fact that it repeats, I just didn’t give it a chance.  When it ended they spun it off into Caprica and I didn’t watch that one either because I knew I was lost by not seeing Battlestar Galactica so I just didn’t bother.

Well now that BBC America has acquired Battlestar Galactica from NBC/Universal, this summer I finally get my chance to watch it.  So that’s something to look forward to this summer on Saturdays.

I watched Battlestar Galactica in the 70’s when I was a kid, it was one of my favorite shows so you would’ve thought that I would’ve made time to watch it.  I didn’t but now I can so yay me.

Talking About Trolls On The Radio

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily Blog1 Comment

I wake up every morning with Klly 95.3 FM here in Bakersfield and this morning I woke up listening to what seemed like an odd conversation with the hosts Danny Hill and Niki Reyes.  They were talking about how overly sensitive people are of what they talk about on the radio and even post on Facebook.  I woke up during their conversation but this is what I got from it.

Danny Hill must have said something about going to the circus on the radio or on Facebook and people went over his head and started posting negative comments about it on the radio stations Facebook fan page saying he is supporting racism/slavery and animal cruelty.  First of all, how does going to the circus support racism and/or slavery?  And secondly, he went to an animal free circus.  They have clowns and acrobatics, they didn’t have any animals.  Clowns and acrobatics get paid so they aren’t slaves.

I didn’t see a negative comment from a “fan” but Klly did make a post saying “Relax everyone, it’s a animal free circus, just clowns and tight rope walkers! It’s the new trend!”

Then he was talking about how they were talking on the radio about a list of Hollywood’s sexiest jewish women.  He mentioned how ridiculous the list was when they came across Sarah Silverman.  I mean, she is anything but sexy lol.  People took that as he was making fun of 1 jewish people and 2 women.

His intentions weren’t to make fun of the people but instead of how dumb the list was because they added a person that he thought was FAR from sexy which I happen to agree.  If you add a square into a list of rounds then that list is ridiculous and it should be made fun of for existing.  If you can’t have all beautiful women then why bother making the list?

It would be like if they added the Nick Nolte in a list of hot men with men like Ricky Martin, Tom Cruise and Jake Gyllenhaal, etc.  That list becomes stupid because you have added 1 person who doesn’t belong.  See what I’m saying?

He was talking about how overly sensitive people are and how they turn everything you say around and make it negative.  Which is so true.  People aren’t focused on anything positive anymore, they only focus on the negative.

Listen, when I think about the circus, the things that pop into my head are clowns, popcorn, peanuts and very nimble people.  Not racism and animal cruelty.  But that’s just me.  I don’t think about all of the things that are negative with a circus because I’m not a troll.

He said that (hypothetical) if he talked about going to Baskin Robbins that people would turn that around and tell him that he supports diabetes.  I can so see people turning that around because people have nothing better to do than to leave nasty negative comments about anything that you say.

I’ve been to Baskin Robbins and they don’t support diabetes because they are so stingy with their ice cream that you wouldn’t be able to get diabetes from them.  They give you this tiny little scoop then charge you $2 for it.  If that one little tiny scoop gives you diabetes then you need to be studied.

I wrote a post last year about a can of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches called Candwich and people were leaving one negative comment after another about how I’m promoting obesity in children.  How does PB&J promote obesity in children?  My mother gave me PB&J sandwiches all the time in my childhood and I never became obese.  I didn’t become obese because I was an active child.  I didn’t sit around playing video games all day long and we had video games back then too.  I had a life outside of tv and video games.  We actually enjoyed the sun and the park and riding bikes and having fun when I was a kid so none of us ever got fat from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I know there are better things to focus on in this world like how there are terrorists committing suicide and killing hundreds of innocent lives for their own agenda.  We are at war right now with at least 2 countries that I know of and there was a recent tragedy in Japan that we could also be focusing on.  Isn’t there something better that we could be talking about instead of turning on each other at the drop of a word?

I am sensitive about gay rights.  If I see someone doing or saying something wrong to gay people I go off.  But if someone is making an innocent joke then I can certainly laugh along because I know how to pick my battles.  I’m not so overly sensitive that it’s all I focus on in my day-to-day life.

People really need to pick their battles and stop focusing on such negative things.  The circus is a good thing and a list no matter who is in the list can sometimes be silly so why can’t we make fun of it?  I mean really people, get a life!

Happy Easter

On By Michel McDonaldIn HolidaysLeave a comment

I got this email today from my aunt and it was too cute not to post.

Happy Easter

All I need to know

I learned from the Easter Bunny!

  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
  • Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
  • There’s no such thing as too much candy.
  • All work and no play can make you a basket case.
  • A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.
  • Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
  • Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
  • Some body parts should be floppy.
  • Keep your paws off of other people’s jelly beans.
  • Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.
  • The grass is always greener in someone else’s basket.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

May the joy of the season fill your heart.

AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU!

Happy Easter!


My Desktop Computer Blew Up

On By Michel McDonaldIn ComputerLeave a comment

I never thought this would ever happen to me but the power supply in my desktop computer blew up today.  The last couple of times I had it turned on, it shut off without any warning.  When I had my previous computer that would happen while I was playing EverQuest but it would reboot.  I was told that was a memory issue so I assumed this time it could either be memory or power supply but I wasn’t sure.

My computer has been off all day yesterday and today and I figured today I would look in the back and see if the light was on for the internet wire and it was turned on so I started thinking, if the power supply was bad then why is there power going to that light?  So I flipped the switch off then on then off then on again and the light was still on.  I pushed the power button and the computer turned on.

I was playing Lord of the Rings Online for at least 2 hours and all of a sudden it just made a popping sound, the computer screen went black and my brain went into panic mode.  I pushed my chair out of the way, fell to the floor and rushed to unplug the power cable.

Now, I have a bad back and I’m overweight which means I don’t get around too easily.  It takes a lot for me to get back up off the floor but I was up instantly.  It must have been adrenaline that got me back up on my feet.  I mean, I’m not that fat, I’m only 100lbs overweight but still, it is hard for me to get back up.

I called Darrin to tell him not to worry about getting me a new power supply then like 10 minutes later this happens so I called him back saying never mind, I do need a power supply.  He mentioned that it might have blown out the motherboard which I had already been thinking about but didn’t want to admit it because that’s how much more money?  About, what $150-$200?  As it is the power supply is $45.

Ok so if it’s also the motherboard then who knows what else might have been affected that was plugged into the motherboard like the memory, video card, cpu, heck even the hard drive and dvd burner.  This could have fried my entire computer.  Or maybe not, we’ll have to find out when I get a new power supply.

I have a Win XP laptop but the screen doesn’t work but even if it did I don’t have enough hard drive space for Lord of the Rings Online and it doesn’t work with my monitor.  So for now I have my CR-48 to keep me in touch with the world via email, websites, Twitter, Facebook and my blog.  Thanks once again Google.

If I get a new power supply and it works but my computer doesn’t come on then I will know it’s because I fried the motherboard.  If so then I will be screwed.  I will have to get a new computer if that is the case.  It’s not going to be easy to save the money for a new computer, that’s why I’m still using an old computer.  It’s funny I say old because I built it in 2007.  Holy crap!  Technology sure doesn’t last very long does it?

Update: Good news, when Darrin came home from work yesterday, he picked me up at the house and we went and got a new power supply, actually a better power supply with 2 fans on it.  We asked about the motherboard and the guy said that the power supplies have a safety built in so that if something happens to it and it surges like it did then it won’t fry the motherboard or anything that is plugged into the power supply like the dvd burner, floppy disc drive and hard drive.  So all is good.

The Search for Childhood Friends

On By Michel McDonaldIn Friends and Family1 Comment

When I got my first internet enabled computer in the late 90’s, I figured it would help me find all of my childhood friends. The ones that I could remember their names anyway. I joined websites like Classmates but they weren’t a huge help because you have to pay them every month. I can’t afford that.

So I’ve basically just been doing a search every year since 1997 and usually with no luck until now. Last year I found 2 friends from the late 70’s, Marla and Jeff. When I was 9, Marla was 5 and Jeff was 10. I considered Marla to be my best friend at the apartment building and I didn’t really get to know Jeff until maybe months before we moved away but when I did get to know him he was my best friend. It was too bad we moved and didn’t become even better friends. I feel like I really missed out on a good friendship.

But I also had a best friend from school named Larry who I’ve searched with no results until last night. Just like when I found Marla and Jeff, I went to Facebook and typed Larry’s full name and I found him. He has been on Facebook for a whole year and I didn’t know. I think that I did find him last year but he didn’t have enough information for me to decide to email him. Also he is a jr. and his name doesn’t say that in his Facebook profile so I wasn’t sure if it was him or not.

I emailed him asking him if he is who I think he is from the late 70’s living in my city and going to my school and even cub scouts with me. He said it was him but he needed more information because he could only remember 2 people from back then. I sent him 2 pictures of me from 1979, 1 in cub scout uniform and another lounging with my older sister. Plus I gave him a huge email explaining why things happened the way they did with me quitting the cub scouts and us moving etc.

That was last night at like 1am and I was tired so I might have over shared with maybe a little too much enthusiasm but I’m sure it didn’t scare him off lol. I tend to do that to people, freak them out with my enthusiasm. I don’t mean to though lol.

I haven’t heard back from him yet but I’m sure I will hear from him tonight and see if that really is him or not. If so then I am so happy that I finally found him after all these years.

Thank you internet and Facebook for bringing people back into my life.

Blow The Dust Out Of Your Computer (PSA)

On By Michel McDonaldIn ComputerLeave a comment

I don’t know if many people are aware of this or not but if you have a computer that is at least a year old, it has dust inside of it.  Not just on top of the parts but inside of them as well.

It’s a good idea to buy a can of compressed air, that is unless you have an actual air compressor.  Either way, just unplug everything from the back of it and bring it outside.  Open the side door of it by unscrewing the 2 screws in the back then start blowing things.

You will be surprised when all of a sudden you see a dust cloud forming right in front of you as all of the dust starts shooting out of places you didn’t even know dust could exist.  This may not help your computer perform faster or efficiently but I’m sure it can’t be good for the fans or your CPU’s heat sink to be that dusty.

We don’t have an air compressor anymore so I went to Walgreen’s and bought a can of compressed air for $7.99 (WOW $8 for air!) and came home and opened both computers and just started blowing all the dust out.  I was shocked at how much dust came out of them.  The CPU’s heat sink had a lot of dust and so did the power supply fan and case fan.  I was actually shocked at how much dust was in the case fan compared to the rest of the computer.

The reason I did this is because Chips power supply died, he couldn’t even turn his computer on anymore and when I opened his computer up to take it out I could see all this dust in there.  I figured it was that time again but I was out of canned air so I figured now is as good as any to buy another can.

So that is my tip for the day.  You can buy a little car tire air compressor that plugs into your cars lighter socket for around $20 and it will work just as good as a $8 can of compressed air and it will last you a lot longer than the cans do.  It’s worth it knowing your computer isn’t going to have all that dust inside of it.  I blow the dust out of both computers at least 2 or 3 times a year and you should too.

Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Health2 Comments

I don’t understand why I’m not able to lose weight.  I have changed my diet completely, I have basically done a 180° and yet I still can’t lose weight.

I stopped drinking soda, coffee and tea and I only drink water but that didn’t make any difference because I’m still gaining.  I stopped making pasta meals and started eating more veggies and sometimes only eat veggies and yet that hasn’t made any difference because I’m still gaining.

I haven’t started exercising though because I’m in too much pain.  If I had a back wheel for my bicycle then I would be able to ride my bike, although it has a weight limit of 250lbs and I’m 258 now so I would probably have to wait a bit to do that.  I tried walking but I get back pain after like 5 minutes then I have to sit down.  I have degenerative disc disease in my spine which makes it very difficult to do anything really.

I am seeing the doctor this week on Thursday and I know he’s going to bitch at me for not losing weight again this month.  But nobody can say I haven’t tried because I have made the change to my diet.  Until I can get an easier way to exercise, I’m kinda stuck.

Cleaning the Back Yard

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily Blog1 Comment

We were supposed to have family visiting us in early March but they postponed until late March.  Then they made it early April, postponed 1 week then again.  Basically, I’ve been frantically cleaning until I hear of the postponement over and over lol.

The house isn’t that bad but you know, it’s the little things here and there.  Nooks and crannys that you don’t think about but it’s the first thing that draws their attention and they bring out the white gloves type of thing lol.

So I moved on to the side patio, back patio and back yard areas.  Got the side patio and back patio cleaned out but it’s the yard that really needs to be cleaned.  I had a lot of trash in all of those places because we never use them so all of the boxes that I don’t feel like breaking down when I get packages and when we got our tv’s ended up there.  Also, some stuff got ruined in the recent rains and well, needless to say I have a lot of trash.  Our trash only gets picked up once a week so I have to wait to clean some more.

Our back yard doesn’t have any grass and the orange tree is growing out of control but what I would like to do is clean it all up, prune the branches on the tree and put grass out there then I can clean up the lounge chairs (sand, prime and repaint them and buy some garden cushions for them) so that I can sit out there.

My Nook works in the sunlight and I think that will make reading it so much easier if I’m reading it outside instead of inside.  Also, it will give our dog Flower a chance to do what she loves to do in the summer time which is sun bathe.  She loves to lay out in the sun.  I can see her laying on a lounge chair in the back yard lol.

I think that if we had a nicer looking back yard we might have BBQ’s back there where we can invite friends and family over for lunch or dinner or something.  Then we can all sit in the chairs in the sun or in the patio under the awning.

Since I have a lot of work ahead of me this is just a dream for now.  But like I said, I can’t do anything until the trash gets picked up so I can add more to the cans.  Same with the green cans.  I can’t add any of the orange tree branches to a full can so this will be a dream that will take weeks, maybe even months to fulfill.  But I want it to happen so it will… hopefully.