Don't use both cables at the same time

I work consumer computer support. Today, I took my second case where the customer has a nice Dell computer with a nice monitor, but sometimes the start menu, task bar, and the icons don't show up. This happens because the computer thinks that there are 2 monitors connected to the computer, and the output showing on the monitor is for the second monitor. If you have ever had a dual-monitor setup, you know that one of the monitors is considered the main display, and has the task bar, start button , and the icons that initially show up on the screen. The secondary monitor will show any icons that are dragged over to it, but there is no task bar or start button.

What happens is that the monitor that comes with this computer is a versatile monitor, and is equipped with both an old-style (VGA) connector, as well as a new-style (DVI) connector, so that no matter which type of connector your computer has, this monitor can connect to it without having to use an adapter. The computer is similarly versatile, having both a VGA and a DVI output, so that no matter which type your computer has, you can hook it directly to the computer without an adapter. It also allows you to use the VGA connector for one monitor, and the DVI connector for a second monitor.

These customers were doing what most computer users do: they unpack the computer, and stick all the cables into the ports that match up. In this case, they end up with 2 cables connecting their monitors to their computers, making the computer think they had a dual-monitor setup. It's not a big deal at first, because the main display is the one that is displayed on the only monitor. But when the computer goes to sleep and then is awakened (or sometimes when it starts up), it somehow sends the signal for the second monitor to the only monitor, thus showing a screen with a background, but no icons, task bar, or start button.

The fix is simple: don't use both cables at the same time! :)

I just read Slashdot's collective opinion on this Rossi guy and his exothermic reaction generator named e-cat. It ain't good. Ah, well. Maybe one day...

Cold Fusion? We've heard that one before...

There is a man named Andrea Rossi who not only claims to have finally discovered cold fusion, but has a worldwide demonstration planned for October 28, 2011. I found out about it from Mark Gibbs at network World. I must have been slacking in reading slashdot to not have heard about it through that website first. Man, it will be nice if this thing is real. It would upset so many people's oxcarts (disruptive technology) that who knows exactly how it will effect my own life. It seems like it would have to put the price of oil through the floor. The materials involved in the process would become worth so much more than they are currently.

I guess I'd better get over to Slashdot and see what all of those eggheads think about it.

Since my last post, I have moved to Dallas!

I got a one-year contract doing phone and e-commerce support at a really, really big software company. I have been working the 7pm-4am shift for the past month, but starting next Monday, I get to climb up the seniority ladder to the 3 PM to midnight shift. This is good for me trying to finish my degree, and other things.

When we moved, my wife spent a lot of time picking out the house that we would lease, because she wanted to not make me commute an hour each way, but she wanted to move where the schools were really good, because she wanted to put our kids back into school. She has been homeschooling for 7 years, and only wanted to stop homeschooling if the schools she was putting the kids into were really good. So we ended up about 40 minutes from my work, in a north Dallas suburb where the rent is high and the schools are all rated "exemplary."

We have been here about 2 months now, and we have only had ONE day since we got here that the temperature didn't reach 100 degrees. Wow.

Anyway, maybe by the time I post again, I will have a more permanent job, but at least this one pays good. $5 more per hour than back when I worked directly for this very, very large software company (so it's the most I have ever made before).

Oh, BTW, I realized that I need to be a developer instead of a non-developer IT person. The future of IT people making lots of money does NOT rest with people who do support or maintain infrastructure. It rests with project managers and developers. I recently applied for a Software Development Engineer Test position, but haven't heard anything.

washer back up, and a call from Bentonville

So continues the story of the broken $1000 washing machine:

My wife gave me her strong opinion that she would order the part new, but then caught herself, backtracked and said she trusts my judgment, whatever I order, because this is my project. All well and nice, but I couldn't very well order the used part now, on the off chance that it may go bad sometime in the next 10 years, making me wrong about something that she was right about. I'm sure she meant what she said about trusting me, and that she wouldn't say "I told you so," if that actually happened, but still...

Anyway, the new part came today, and after I got home from work, I put the washing machine back together. I ran a test load, and no water ended up on the floor. I am happy. I wonder how much it would have cost to have someone come out and look at it (I wonder how much I saved). I guess I'll never know.

In other news...

So I got a call out of the blue from a guy at a very large retail chain who happens to headquarter in Bentonville, Arkansas yesterday (think King of Retail). He ran across my resume somewhere, and wanted to know if I would be able to work during the hours of 6am to 6pm if they were to offer me a job. Apparently, they have had too many people go through the interview process, only to turn the job down because they can't work the hours needed (maybe they all are in school or something). I said yes, and we set up a longer, more involved call for today.

So he calls me back today, and lays out a really cool job scenario: they are the Unix Administration team for this large (understatement) corporation, and they support the Unix systems that run the whole business. He wants to interview me for a member of that support team. It would be first line support (internal customers, obviously). He said that his people get poached all the time to manage other areas in the IT part of this major corporation, because of the awesome stuff they learn on this team. Sounds compelling. But because of my level of education and experience with Unix (or lack thereof on both counts), they would only be able to offer me $13 per hour. That's $4 less than I make now, and it doesn't go very far with a wife and 4 kids.

It killed me to do it, but I had to tell him that I wouldn't be able to live on that salary, so I shouldn't waste his time any further. Then I cried. No, I didn't really cry, but the more I look back on it, I want to a little bit. He said I was the only person outside his local area that he was even calling about the job. I feel really flattered for even getting the call. I am having faith that when the right time comes, I will get the right job in the right place.

That's a real nice washer you got there. It'd be a real shame if anything happened to it...

The picture here isn't of me nor is it an avatar of mine. I ran across it today on the internet, and it gave me a good laugh. Let me tell you the story:

So the washing machine decided to dump a few gallons of water on the floor today. Awesome.

We already had a packed schedule for today and tomorrow, and now we have water on the laminate flooring soaking into the dirty clothes piled in front of the washing machine. And I had to leave the house within an hour. So I googled "how to open a kenmore oasis," and got some basic instructions to remove the fasteners at the back of the machine, and then the whole top will flip up towards the front.

On my model, apparently, there was a little more to do. Several wires had to be unplugged from the main circuit board, and there was still the grounding wire running from the top part to the lower part of the machine, which wasn't allowing the top to flip up. And that is how I had to leave it while I went to my church meeting. When I got home, I continued to take the machine apart, and was able to remove the offending green grounding wire. After that. the whole top part, including the hose connections, and the part where the electrical plug wire attaches to the machine, easily lifted off the bottom part of the washer. Weird.

So then, to make a long story short, I was able to lay the bottom part of the machine on its side, and see where water was dripping from. It was one of the 2 pumps (the larger of the two) that pump water to various places. The more expensive of the two pumps, apparently. I found a metal part inside it, which had apparently punched a hole in the side of the pump, allowing water to leak out. It also broke off one of the impeller blades inside the pump, and may have royally messed up the pump motor shaft (It feels a bit loosey-goosey, but I don't know what it's supposed to feel like in the first place). The sticker on the side of the pump says, among other things Part No. W10049390, and also made in Italy.

So I googled the part, and find it on a few places, including eBay. The part looks to be around $70.00. But one of the places I see has it for $51.75. The domain name of the place is (yes, in all caps), PICKMRAPPLIANCE.COM. a domain name in all caps for no apparent reason alone is enough to scare me off. There was no picture of the part, which was another reason for me to not trust the site. Then there was the slogan on the website: "PICKMRAPPLIANCE--YOUR PARTS SPECIALIZE." Okay, so I imagine there are plenty of honest e-store proprietors who happen to have some language other than English as their first language. But then I really notice the picture of the person on the website.

It was if he was saying,"That's a real nice washing machine you got there. It'd be a real shame if anything were to happen to it." I almost want to buy from this website just to see what I get from them.