What did I tell you about Win XP being with us for a while? That fiasco with Vista prompted MS to come out with System 7 which contains and “XP emulator”. This is not to say all your pirated software will run on it because you’ll need a valid copy of System 7. There’s no disguising MS is backpedaling again.There is also a long over-due change to the security settings in Windows. For years I’ve been advocating that nobody should be allowed to place anything on your computer without express permission. System 7 is finally taking up the concept. Up till how, all security tried to block bad code. Now, the plan is to only allow good code. Instead of continually updating ever-growing lists of viruses, the computer will only run a short list of pre-approved applications. That means a very short list that rarely changes.
If you prefer practical matters, Arnel called back today and the mysterious printer problem has been solved. That does not change the fact that we have dubbed HP to stand for Haunted Printer. Read last Sunday for the details. We had a printer that seemed to know when we put card stock in the tray. In a sense, we had guessed the problem; it was Arnel who supplied the answer.
We learned that there are two types of business card stock. One for inkjet printers, the other for laser printers. I was aware that laser paper was designed not to curl when drawn over the heated drum. I did not know that laser paper also has an undetectable but different surface texture. It is smoother, causing the rollers on the printer to skid, which draws the paper into the machine unevenly. I personally consider it despicable that Hewlett-Packard would even build rollers susceptible to such faults, so they are now the Haunted Printer company.
Who remembers Fiory, the gal I met in Caracas back in 1994? Her father was a shoemaker. I was fascinated by how he successfully put his kids through university by running that little shop in Acacias, just off Sabana Grande. Now fast forward to Hollywood, a year ago, when I mentioned the shoemaker beside the old Megabite Café had disappeared. He is now over on Tyler street, and I dropped in to see his operation. Remember, in my books, anyone who has their own shop is far higher esteemed than all but the highest paid employees.
I put heels on a pair of ladies shoes, and new soles on a pair of men’s leather. You work with glue, tacks and buffing machines, but there are lots of worse jobs out there these days. Alfredo, the owner, let me grind and cut pieces, as well as take worn parts off leather shoes and shape new parts. This is no career but I am going back tomorrow to help out again. As far as puttering around work goes, this was not bad at all. I hardly seems like work. For that reason alone, I will give it some deep thought. It is not work for clean freaks. Talk about right out of the blue.
And what new and exciting things did the rest of the world accomplish today? Hello? Anybody home?
