Searching for the ghost...

My VAIO finally fulfilled the promise of Windows computing and became an expensive paperweight yesterday. Consistently, a few minutes after starting any application, system resources would disappear and you would not be able to do anything with the machine, not even shut it down (however, that last wasn't anything new, in my experience).

A typical symptom would entail me attempting to write an LJ post and not getting any further than here before my screen froze.

At any rate, after landing for the sixth or seventh time in "Safe mode" on my way to restarting the machine, I decided to try out the "Restore configuration" feature of Windows Me. The idea here is that Windows now, apparently, retains enough information about the state of your machine every time you do something to it (such as install software), that it can "undo" the changes and restore the machine's configuration to what it was at some time in the past.

On paper, it sounds like a good time in town on Friday night. In practice, it did not work, at least not for me. After waiting "a few moments" for the process to complete (I went to sleep after waiting for 2 hours), the end result was a message to the effect that the restoration could not be done. Ye gods.

I then tried the system restoration CDs that came with the unit, thinking there'd be a way to do what Windows users do best: reinstall Windows. In the aftermath, I'd like to send a big "Thank you" (no sarcasm intended) to whomever designed them to inform me that their use would format my drives and restore the original configuration of my system. I do not want that to happen...at least not yet.

So...what was next? I seriously contemplated stopping by my local CompUSA to pick up a Windows Me CD so I could do the reinstall. But then I remembered that most OEM machines come with a Windows distribution already on the hard drive, which accounts for not having to go look for a CD every time you want to attach a device to your machine. After a little digging, I found the directory, and did the reinstall.

Everything went well. Initially, I wondered whether my settings would be retained, but decided that it was worth the loss of those settings if the machine would only settle down and let me do my work. My worry was not worth the effort, as the reinstall did the right things.

But the problem still did not go away.

At this point, I decided that the problem must have had to do with a software upgrade I'd installed a could of days ago (by now). The "Restore Configuration" feature could not undo the install, but the uninstall you get via the Control Panel worked just fine.

And seems to have solved the problem, to boot.

Big word, that "seems." But we'll see.

Cheers...

Virtually speaking...

Yesterday's gig doing crew support had me working with Gennadi Padalka, who is the commander of the Expedition 4 backup crew. At the start of the day, we met at Building 9, but not in the large part of the building where the full-scale mockups are located, but over on the side, in a suite of offices that house - among other facilities - the Center's virtual reality laboratory.

The lab is a relatively small installation, but it is every computer geek's dream. High-powered CPUs on 6-inch centers. High-resolution displays. Equipment mockups. And, of course, an area set aside for state-of-the-art virtual-reality-based training.

This training session covered the operation of the SAFER, a Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue. This device, which was put through its paces during STS-92 last October, is attached to the spacesuit of all crew members who do extravehicular activities (EVAs), also known as "space walks." The SAFER is intended to be used in case a crew member loses physical contact - including the tethered connection - with the station while doing a space walk. In the absence of a device such as the SAFER, such loss of contact is potentially fatal, since there is no way to return to the station once you've separated from it.

The device consists of a network of 24 small valves that are directed in all directions around the astronaut, and which are connected - through some avionics and some pressure-reducers - to a tank filled with gaseous nitrogen to an initial pressure of 8000 pounds per square inch. The whole shebang is controlled by the free-floating astronaut once the system controller is deployed. This is done by working a catch that releases the controller, which looks like a Nintendo game pad on steroids.

After the lesson came the practice, with Gennadi donning a set of VR gear and getting calibrated for the exercise. The ground rules were stacked against him, to provide a safety margin.

First, his SAFER would start with the minimum acceptable charge of gas, 87%. Second, his rate of separation (how fast he was moving from the station as he floated free) was set at 1 foot per second. Third, his rate of rotation (how fast he was twisting in any of three axes) was set at 30 degrees per second in each axis, which meant that he would make one complete turn in the pitch, yaw, and roll axes every 8 seconds. Finally, it was assumed it would take him 30 seconds to deploy and turn on his controller.

Once activated, the SAFER automatically (and efficiently) stops the astronaut from tumbling. Given the ground rules, this generally reduces the gas available to return to about 70%. Subsequently, the astronaut must rotate in such a way as to see the station, and then move in a straight line back to the station. It's not as easy as it sounds, and there are some potential "gotchas" that can screw up your attempt to rescue yourself, but Padalka made it back okay in both runs.

The rest of the day was not as exciting. There was a class that taught the basics of using the so-called Pistol Grip Tool (PGT), and another class on various applications that will be used aboard the ISS.

Today's sim was rescheduled so that it runs into the early morning hours tomorrow. Considering my assignment on Friday starts relatively early in the morning, I elected to take a day off after this morning's telecon and recharge my batteries. It's all to the good, apparently, as I just got up a few minutes ago from a long-overdue mid-day nap, and feel much, much better.

Of course, not having my computer go belly up every 15 minutes is also a relieving sight.

Cheers...

Questions...

Just spent a relaxing half hour or so on the couch, brushing Sasha. (It's probably poor technique, seeing as how she chewed up my best set of chopsticks, and the attention may be viewed as some kind of reward, but what the hey...)

So there I am, brushing a very appreciative dog...and thinking.

Somewhere in the past day - this had to be on the radio - I heard someone say that society changed from a nomadic and unstable state to one that was agrarian and (more or less) stable when the controlling question in people's minds changed from "How do we get to the water?" to "How do we get the water to come to us?"

This made me think of Anthony Robbins, and something I heard him say on one of his motivational CDs, to the effect that "the quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask yourself." It would appear that the radio program gave something of an example of what Robbins is talking about.

But then I got to thinking...if chaotic societies became more stable as a result of the change in the questions that they asked themselves, then might not a suitable parallel be drawn with everyone's Favorite Question - i.e., "What is the meaning of life?" - by restating it as: "How can I make my life meaningful?"

Jeez. Give me a day off by myself and I start waxing philosophical, 'n stuff...

I'm going to go for a walk, and maybe pick up some vittles.

Cheers...