Update - A VERY Long Post!

I apologize for no new updates. I have been hoping to receive a picture or two of my experience playing in the simul against Susan Polgar (http://www.SusanPolgar.blogspot.com) to share with you, as well as describing that experience and the subsequent tournament. I will give you some kind of update on all this ASAP.

In the meantime...a VERY long post...likely the longest post I have ever made!

They're Back!

Bridget and Rowen returned home last week. I was afraid that Rowen wouldn't remember his Daddy after almost two weeks away. At first, Rowen acted strange...his expression and manner was consistent with "Hmmmm, I think I know this guy, but I can't put my finger on who, where or when...", so I got a cool reception. I was devastated! That was all short-lived, however. Within an hour or two he was acting like his old self. He definately was himself with me by his bathtime, which is OUR time (father/son bonding time). What a relief!

While he was away, Rowen learned to climb up on chairs and couches, as well as climbing stairs...well if you count crawling up stairs as climbing. Coming down is still a problem. We really don't have much in the way of stairs (carport door has two brick steps) for Rowen to practice with. Rowen also graduated from eating "baby" food to "adult" food. He will now eat with us at the same time, with a little help from Mommy and Daddy. He likes to eat meat (beef, chicken, pork, fish), and will eat various vegetables without them being altered in any significant way, but still has an issue eating fruit in the same manner. Processed fruits like applesauce is OK, so I think it is a texture thing that he still needs to get used to. He drinks from his sippy-cup all on his own now...we just have to hand it to him if it is out of reach, otherwise he grabs it and chugs away.

Rowen likes "push" toys on wheels that he can push around while walking. He has also learned to associate some shapes and colours, as he can push a wooden blue cylinder through a round hole on one toy...but he still hasn't tried any of the other shapes and colours. He just knows that the blue ones go in that one hole.

Rowen is much more "chatty" now, although his vocabulary is still limited. Besides "Ma Ma" and "Da Da", we swear he can say "Ro Ro" (Grover, his current favourite stuffed toy...and my favourite Sesame Street character as a child). Rowen hit fifteen months on July 1st, so for a boy I would say this is OK developmentally.

Rowen is starting to show his responses to music. I caught him bobbing up and down in front of the TV on Saturday in time to the music on one of our digital cable music channels (this time it was heavy metal). Bridget called me at work yesterday to tell me that Rowen also appears to be a fan of American Idol finalist Bo Bice! He made an appearance on a morning TV show (Regis & Kelly, I believe) and performed a song, and Bridget caught Rowen swaying and bouncing along! She even got it on video!

Wireless Networking Saga

I got the wireless network up and running prior to Bridget and Rowen returning. Everything seems to be running smoothly so far. I have a few minor things to overcome, but that will take some free time when I can keep Rowen away to do the work. The new Comcast high-speed internet service is awesome! I performed all my Windows updates, etc in just a few minutes versus hours with dial-up! Ugh! How could I have lived like that?

The devices in my new home network setup have been given baseball-related monikers (as a tribute to my dad, who was a baseball freak).

"Home Plate", or "Catcher" is the "main" PC, still located in Rowen's room (the main reason for the wireless network). It is also a new PC, a Dell Dimension 3000, which I basically got with the maximum features available without moving up to a higher-end (i.e. more expensive) model. Highlights include:

* Intel Pentium IV CPU w/ HT, 3.0 MHz (this is the new dual-core CPU that Intel has released)

* 2GB 333MHz DDR RAM (the maximum capacity the mother board recognizes)

* 160GB 7,200RPM HDD (largest they offered with the system)

* DVD-ROM drive

Also * 17" analogue LCD monitor

The video on the PC was of the "shared" variety, which I heartily dislike. However, this PC has only three of the older PCI standard expansion slots on the mother board, two of which were used (56K modem...not built into the mother board, how odd...and the Creative Labs sound card I ordered with the PC). I managed to get an NVidia GeForce video card for PCI that was 256MB, and still for less than $100 on eBay! Smokin'!

I decided to get USB external peripherals so that all PCs on the network could utilize them. Thanks to Iomega Corporation, I have:

* 16X USB Extrernal DVD-RW drive (can burn music and movies, sure...but also can burn critical archival data...first and foremost all the digital pics of Rowen, and especially the precious few of Royce we have)

* 400GB 5,4000RPM USB External HDD (will be the archival drive)

I picked up a KVM switch so that I can connect laptops to the system and use the LCD monitor when at the desk. I found one that also had two USB ports to allow two USB peripheral devices to be shared as well, so I thought that was an awesome prospect and spent the extra money to get it. The switch works great, but I have been having problems getting my HP Photosmart printer and HP Scanjet colour scanner to work through it.

I have a small four-port USB hub set up in front to temporarily connect USB devices, but I might find out that I need to connect more if the KVM switch won't work out as planned. I could get a seven-port USB hub at a reasonable price and just use it "switchboard" style, connecting/disconnecting my USB devices and peripherals as needed, since all would have extended cables. This is not as desirable, as it would be more cluttered-looking from the front.

The "main" laptop I have dubbed "Pitcher". It is a (slightly) used Dell Latitude C840. I purchased it off of a reseller on eBay. Basically it was a corporate lease that was eventually returned after the lease expired, was refurbished by Dell for sale and was purchased by the reseller to sell on eBay. It was basically the "top of the line" three years ago, but that means that it still has more than enough to make it useful for quite some time for me, and I got it for less than a third of what it was worth new nearly three years ago. Highlights include:

* Intel Pentium IV-m (mobile) CPU, 2.2GHz, with SpeedStep technology

* 1GB RAM (the published maximum RAM)

* 40GB 5,400RPM HDD (fixed drive) came loaded with Windows 2000 Professional, no media

* DVD/CD-RW drive (fixed drive)

* 64MB NVidia GeForce Go video card (maximum video)

* built-in Intel Pro 2200 wireless card

* 15" TFT SVGA LCD screen* PCMCIA card slot (Type II/III)

* Diskette drive module (media bay)

To this, I have already made some modifications:

* Replaced the 40GB 5,400RPM HDD with a 60GB 7,200RPM HDD and loaded Windows Xp Professional on it

* Got a 100GB 5,400RPM removable HDD for the media bay

* the laptop only has two USB ports, and they are the older version 1.1...I installed a PCMCIA card that has four USB 2.0 ports

* got a second battery so that I can effectively double the battery life of the laptop when both batteries are utilized (one in each media bay)

* I can upgrade the CPU to a maximum of 2.6GHz, but this may be prohibitively expensive...it depends on what I need to do with the "project" laptop I am detailing below.

* Dell user forums have indicated that despite the published maximum 1GB of RAM per Dell, it is possible to have up to 2GB RAM running on this model laptop, but there have been mixed results reported when this was attempted. Some ran great, other did not at all, still others ran SLOWER after the upgrade. There may be other factors involved that will require further research. It could be the speed of the memory (PC2100, PC2700, etc.), the bus speed (266MHz, 333MHz, etc.), or even the manufacturer that makes a difference. The current memory on the laptop is spec-ed as PC2100, 266MHz, so that is my best guess to go on right now.

I am supposed to eventually get my sister's old Compaq laptop as well. I plan on dubbing it "Left Field". Here are it's highlights:

* Intel Pentium III 766MHz

* 768MB RAM (maximum)

* 20GB HDD (Win Xp loaded)

* 8MB video memory on mother board (this sucks, but there is nothing more that can be done)

* 12 or 13-inch TFT SVGA screen

* PCMCIA card slot (Type II/III)

* CD-ROM drive

* Diskette Drive

This machine will still be good enough for surfing the Net and other basic tasks. It is intended for use by Bridget. To get it connected on the internet/network, I would need to install a PCMCIA wireless networking adapter card (no built-in NIC on this puppy, either). I already have it and am waiting to install it.

Bridget can also use her Toshiba work laptop from school, which is in fact quite a bit better than the Compaq. I have dubbed it "Pinch Hitter":

* Intel Pentium IV Celeron 1.2 Ghz

* 256 MB RAM

* 20GB HDD (Win XP Professional installed)

* 15" TFT SVGA LCD screen

* PCMCIA card slot (Type II/III)

* DVD-ROM drive (media bay)

* Diskette drive (media bay)

This laptop also has built-in wireless, but even though Windows Device Mgr sees the adapter, the wireless LAN connection is enabled and it appears to be working, the adapter refuses to detect any wireless network. When I installed the PCMCIA wireless networking adapter card that I have earmarked for the Compaq laptop, the Toshiba went online, no problem. That is another technical issue that I have to research in more detail. This laptop won't be home much when school is in session, but it would be nice for it to get online at home when needed.

I also have a gutted version of the laptop I recently got (Dell Latitude C840), that I got extra-cheap as a parts/repair candidate. It won't power on. The most common reason for laptops not to power on is a problem with the DC converter. On some models the converter hardware is on the mother board (bad news), and in others it is on a seperate (daughter) card. I am fortunate that mine is the latter, which meant it would be much, much cheaper to fix. The real expense is in replacing all the missing hardware. This will be an ongoing project. When it is working properly and can get online, it will then replace the old Compaq. I may keep it around, though. Bridget may object, but I see no reason why Rowen couldn't have his very own laptop once he reaches school age! Heck, in four or five years, it may be one of the Dells that he gets, though!

At work, my workstation PC (an old Piece-Of-S**t e-Machines PC) was just replaced with...you guess it, a Dell! It is an Optiplex 170L.

Dude, I got a Dell...and another Dell...and another...! :-P

Sixth-Year Wedding Anniversary

July 3rd was our sixth wedding anniversary. We did not have a nice evening out alone as we are unable to find anybody to watch Rowen. As it is, I spent much of the day working on a big project (see below). We ordered Chinese takeout for our anniversary dinner...that is what Bridget wanted (no cooking or big cleanup required). Rowen had fried rice for the first time!

The Great Purge

This is the "big project" I was referring to. I have to make room in our storage unit for some possible donated furniture coming from Bridget's parents when they move. Being the total pack-rat that I am, I knew that I was in for a big job...and I dragged this out for a long time, just making things worse.

The "quick" way to fix things was to take out the boxes I knew I needed to go through and bring them home. I did this on Saturday The hope was that I would throw out what was no longer wanted or needed and remove the majority of the boxes in the process. That was the theory, at least. Now, in practice, things turned out much different. On Saturday and Sunday, our carport was littered with scattered stuff from said boxes...mostly papers. It was hot and very unpleasant work, but I hauled three plastic garbage bags worth of stuff down to the curb Sunday night to be part of the garbage pickup. This was just the "first pass". I still have five storage boxes worth of paperwork to go through. I estimate at least two thirds of this is just scattered information and notes that I have to compile into a concise format, and eliminating the originals. That will be a very time-consuming task, as I have TEN YEARS worth of stuff that was in the unit for over seven years! As I am doing this, I will endeavour to have a filing system in place to keep track of this stuff and not allow it to get out of hand again! Some of the remaining stuff will go back into storage, but some will not...and I better have it organized right because Bridget will not stand for a lot of crap in the house!