Happy Birthday to me!

Good morning! As of this morning, I am eligible for the senior citizen's menu at Denny's *grin*. I'm grinning because the alternative is to cry.... just kidding. I realized years ago there's no sense in worrying about the things you can do nothing about, like thinning hair or advancing years. More importantly, I am able to do just about anything I want, have no aches or pains, and am happy. In other words, not too different than when I was 30. Except, my life is so much richer and more fulfilling than when I was 30. That actually was a bad year for me, my first marriage was on the rocks. See? 55 is much better!
I got a special "birthday greetings" from Microsoft yesterday; a check (or, a "chit") worth $138.01 towards computer software or hardware, part of an antitrust class action lawsuit I jumped in on years ago. I'll use it to defray part of the cost of my new computer. The 2nd item, at first blush, was even more interesting; my order of Vista Home Premium arrived! It was part of a package when I bought my new computer. However, it's the 32-bit version. I wanted the 64-bit version. No joy apparently. After attempting to exchange online, and failing with the usual cryptic message from Microsoft, I called them today, and was told that the 64-bit exchange was only possible if the OEM had included that in their package. Mine didn't. Waa waa, I don't wanna spend my $138.01 check on a 64-bit version of Vista (plus more out of my pocket). Now I'm contemplating my choices. I had been considering running Vista on my laptop, and the 32-bit version would be a good choice for that. However, there are some unanswered questions I have about certain software I consider indispensable, and whether that software will continue to operate under Vista. The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor simply says "No data available", which makes me concerned. Running the 64-bit version on the laptop would definitely not work, since I already know there are no 64-bit hardware drivers for this particular device. Soooo, maybe I could use this copy I have in my greasy little hands to upgrade the laptop, and go buy the 64-bit version for the desktop. Hmmm, I'll ponder that one....
The other possibility is to do with the "main" desktop what I've done with this (#2) desktop; dual-boot Windows XP and Kubuntu Linux. It's available in 64-bit, and it's free! Pretty hard to argue with that. After a whole lot of time and configuring, I've gotten most everything to work correctly, and it handles all multimedia formats. But, it doesn't have that capability by default. And configuring can be a real pain. Microsoft eliminates a lot of that, but at a cost. Oh well, no need to do anything today, after all, it's my birthday! Why would I want to induce a headache today? *grin*

Change in the Weather

The weatherman says we're supposed to get some precipitation tomorrow.... maybe. It's currently showing a 40% probability. Not so certain is whether it'll be rain or snow. I suspect it'll be rain here in Yosemite Valley, but snow up at Badger Pass, where my passengers go every day (I take them there). I normally chain up a lot on this trip, but haven't had to yet. I got a sneakin' suspicion that's about to end. What's a pain is the following morning, Monday. There's always a few people who want to take the YTS bus up on Monday morning, then I pick them up at noon, on our way out of Yosemite. Fine, except it's usually that last 1000 feet of elevation gain that requires the chains. Highway 41 tops off at 6000 feet, Badger Pass is 7000'. Oh well, if it happens, it happens. I'm not going to worry about it.

Bizarre for February

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Yosemite Lodge.... why? Because this is where the wifi is! The only alternative here is a VERY slow (26.4) dialup connection in my room. Sooooo, here I am. It's amazingly warm out, I actually wore a tank top up to Badger Pass this afternoon, it was that warm. Like, mid-60's warm. Really bizarre for this time of year. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Only problem with sitting here in the lobby.... too many passengers pass through. I've already been "hit on" twice by ladies wanting (no, not that.........) to have me open up the bus for them because they forgot something *CRITICALLY IMPORTANT* on the bus. You know, like a jacket (lady #1) or snowshoes (lady #2). Never mind that either one could have easily retrieved the items in the morning. Oh well, I guess that means I'm still on duty...... Anyhow, enough ranting, I'm so happy about the weather, I'm gonna stop bitching :)

Off on another adventure

Hi! I'm just now getting ready to depart on a 5-day winter trip to Yosemite National Park. It's an annual event, in fact the picture on my home webpage is from one of these February trips. I'm all packed up, and ready to go. The forecast looks good, but I'm not taking any chances. It can get nasty there quickly, as I've discovered in the past. So, all the gear comes along. Gotta run, it's getting close to depart time. Bye..........