Seems that in spite of what users of the software might think, MS is ready to release SP3 for MS Office 2003, but is Office 2003 ready for SP3? Well, not any of the versions that anyone I know runs...
In checking to see if SP3 has already snuck onto my system, I went to the Office update site and had it poll my workstation. Yes, I know I could have just checked the about section on the help menu, but I felt like reading some fairy tales. No, I'm still at SP2 and thank heavens I downloaded the full version of SP2 to my local drive so I can deploy that company wide rather than have to fight my way to configuring Office 2003 back to usefulness on 200+ workstations. I love the way MS describes SP3 on the update site: Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (SP3) contains significant security enhancements that practically cripple your ability to work, in addition to stability improvements. Some of the fixes included with SP3 have been previously released as separate updates. This service pack combines them into one update. Note: the colored text is my own, not theirs.
Apparently one of the small drawbacks to installing SP3 is a complete and utter inability to open files that were created before you applied the service pack. In an effort to prevent you from possibly falling into one of the gaping security holes in the suite, MS has decided to prevent the software from actually opening or modifying any existing files. Well I don't know about you, but I've always wanted to have a $795.00 piece of software that just sits on my workstation and does nothing.
Rest assured, they have a workaround. Simply edit your registry to disable all the security features that the service pack just installed. Of course my favorite line in the page describing the download is not the list of things it fixes, nor is it the list of things that no longer work after you install the download. No, my fav section is the To remove this download section...there is no uninstall feature for this download.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
I'm too old for this shit...Part 2
Well, I guess I got a little bit younger. After not getting the lawnmower running when we first put it back together, I guess it was good to take a break.
I still do not see anything wrong with the belt path. I did take another gander at the parts schematic for the mower deck and discovered there is supposed to be a washer between the top of the mandrel bearing and the bottom pulley. Really, how significant can a washer be? I didn't know about the washer because it was either missing to begin with or it disintegrated when the bearing seized. So I trudged to the shop where I bought the second bearing (the correct bearing, if you'll recall) and the young man at the counter simply gave me the washer I needed. Just gave it to me. No $1.29, no $.99, no nothin'. Just gave it to me. Sears would charge me $2.92 for the washer plus a minimum of $4.99 shipping and handling. And it's a rather hefty sized washer, let me tell you.
Now I hope the kid didn't think that the mower would turn up in the shop in the next day or two when he gave me the part. It will definitely go to them when it needs service that I can't perform on it, but this particular service is complete. Done. It be fixed. And no, I don't think it was the washer that made the difference because when it was all put back together, it did the same thing it did the last time I put it back together. I think it was shimmying the belt on one of the pulley's that made the difference. One of the pulleys is twice as wide as the belt is. The lower half of the pulley is all shiny with wear, the upper half dark and oxidized. The belt was sitting on the upper half of the pulley once the deck was re-mounted. I shimmied it down to the shiny side and when we started her up, the blades turned without binding and stopping. Hoo-rah!
I'm rather proud of myself, but I still think I'm too old for this shit...
I still do not see anything wrong with the belt path. I did take another gander at the parts schematic for the mower deck and discovered there is supposed to be a washer between the top of the mandrel bearing and the bottom pulley. Really, how significant can a washer be? I didn't know about the washer because it was either missing to begin with or it disintegrated when the bearing seized. So I trudged to the shop where I bought the second bearing (the correct bearing, if you'll recall) and the young man at the counter simply gave me the washer I needed. Just gave it to me. No $1.29, no $.99, no nothin'. Just gave it to me. Sears would charge me $2.92 for the washer plus a minimum of $4.99 shipping and handling. And it's a rather hefty sized washer, let me tell you.
Now I hope the kid didn't think that the mower would turn up in the shop in the next day or two when he gave me the part. It will definitely go to them when it needs service that I can't perform on it, but this particular service is complete. Done. It be fixed. And no, I don't think it was the washer that made the difference because when it was all put back together, it did the same thing it did the last time I put it back together. I think it was shimmying the belt on one of the pulley's that made the difference. One of the pulleys is twice as wide as the belt is. The lower half of the pulley is all shiny with wear, the upper half dark and oxidized. The belt was sitting on the upper half of the pulley once the deck was re-mounted. I shimmied it down to the shiny side and when we started her up, the blades turned without binding and stopping. Hoo-rah!
I'm rather proud of myself, but I still think I'm too old for this shit...
Monday, September 10, 2007
Happy Birthday to...A-man!
Sunday was my co-worker's birthday so today he was greeted with gifts and decorations when he arrived. He and the D-man had done my workspace up with crepe paper for my birthday. I thought I'd return the favor but all I had was hillbilly crepe paper. Yup, I wrapped the chair, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and telephone. Then I hung 'streamers' from the drop ceiling. It came out even nicer than I expected. Bonus: He was well prepared for any shit that happened to come his way...
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Sunday, lazy Sunday
Well, lazy for me. I only did two loads of laundry, ran to W*a*l*g*r*e*e*n*s for allergy meds, D*i*l*l*o*n*s for strawberries and cream of mushroom soup, and did my duties at Bonnie's with the cats. I did get to sleep in until almost 9:00 am which was a special treat for me since I rarely have animals that realize I don't have to get up at 4:30 in the morning two days each week. Why don't they get that? Maybe I should feed them tranquilizers on Friday and Saturday nights.
Yes, I've been getting up on time and getting to work on time for two weeks now. We have a trainee in the department and I figured I'd better set a good example. Plus we have a new department head starting Monday so even though I don't give a shit whether I keep this job or not (after all, it is just a job), I decided it couldn't hurt to get off on the right foot with him. Who knows, maybe he'll even make a difference for the better.
Now it's time for me to be un-lazy again and go iron the few pieces of clothing that I mistakenly bought the require ironing. Hopefully they'll wear out soon.
Yes, I've been getting up on time and getting to work on time for two weeks now. We have a trainee in the department and I figured I'd better set a good example. Plus we have a new department head starting Monday so even though I don't give a shit whether I keep this job or not (after all, it is just a job), I decided it couldn't hurt to get off on the right foot with him. Who knows, maybe he'll even make a difference for the better.
Now it's time for me to be un-lazy again and go iron the few pieces of clothing that I mistakenly bought the require ironing. Hopefully they'll wear out soon.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Done, not done
Well the lawn mower still isn't running. Everything went back together just fine, but as soon as you drop the deck to engage the blades the whole thing comes to a grinding halt. I was told to check the path of the belts and they looked exactly like the illustrations in the manual so I'm not sure what to do. I was just so disheartened to have it not work the first time and we were hot and sweaty and hot so we left it for another day. Maybe that other day should be tomorrow and perhaps after having left it alone for a while, I will instantly see what is wrong.
Today we finished up the deck rails. The missus visited some friends in Wisconsin and came back raving about how nicely the rails on their deck were finished with a top rail. Rather than listen to her bitch for the next six months about how we need to do that with our deck I've opted to get 'er done. After all, I do have a table saw...
She measured and bought the boards. We still have stain left over from when we stained the house a couple of years ago. The guy at h*o*m*e d*e*p*o*t sold her some fancy-schmancy screws with a special square bit. I don't have the upper body strength to get the fancy screws to countersink so I've secretly replaced the expensive screws with the old fashioned kind that actually work! I had a little trouble with cutting the angles at first. It seems that whatever direction I think the 45 degree angle should be cut at I am wrong and should do the opposite. This is why girls suck at geometry. It doesn't make sense to our minds.
We only wasted one 3 foot piece and it was doubly painful because it was only 1 inch short of being long enough to use on another section. The longer pieces are a pain in the ass to cut because getting one person that's eight feet away from the saw to feed the board towards the saw without tweaking it out of line with the blade is almost impossible. Still we did pretty good for a couple of novices and next weekend we'll tackle the other deck.
Other than that things are as fine as they've been for the past year. We took a small vacation to Lake of the Ozarks which was nice but ended on a sour note. Maybe we just aren't meant to be together forever.
Today we finished up the deck rails. The missus visited some friends in Wisconsin and came back raving about how nicely the rails on their deck were finished with a top rail. Rather than listen to her bitch for the next six months about how we need to do that with our deck I've opted to get 'er done. After all, I do have a table saw...
She measured and bought the boards. We still have stain left over from when we stained the house a couple of years ago. The guy at h*o*m*e d*e*p*o*t sold her some fancy-schmancy screws with a special square bit. I don't have the upper body strength to get the fancy screws to countersink so I've secretly replaced the expensive screws with the old fashioned kind that actually work! I had a little trouble with cutting the angles at first. It seems that whatever direction I think the 45 degree angle should be cut at I am wrong and should do the opposite. This is why girls suck at geometry. It doesn't make sense to our minds.
We only wasted one 3 foot piece and it was doubly painful because it was only 1 inch short of being long enough to use on another section. The longer pieces are a pain in the ass to cut because getting one person that's eight feet away from the saw to feed the board towards the saw without tweaking it out of line with the blade is almost impossible. Still we did pretty good for a couple of novices and next weekend we'll tackle the other deck.
Other than that things are as fine as they've been for the past year. We took a small vacation to Lake of the Ozarks which was nice but ended on a sour note. Maybe we just aren't meant to be together forever.
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