It has been a long day...

I was up at the usual time and turned the desktop computer on as I left the bedroom. Unfortunately, Drew called at 8:45, requiring someone (me) to go hold the fort at the store while he took care of family matters. While holding said fort, best client calls with urgent, gotta-do-it now work, which I accept.

Family matters take longer than usual, leaving me minutes to do the first of the two rush items once I do get back home. Of course, at this juncture, the computer decides to Do Weird Things™. Navigating the swamp with the focus of a blindfolded high-wire walker, I eventually get the rush items out the door, but pay a price in nervous energy.

Two BSODs in short order cause me to remove the old memory card, so the desktop is now running on fumes, but BSOD-free since this morning.

The weird text conversion bug in Word goes away when I (again) clear the "Automatically recognize language" check box. I don't like doing that, as it plays merry havoc during the spell check, but I don't have time to waste, and I'd rather get work done and take hits like that than sit and stew about why I can't be living a perfect life.

But without sudden funny (and unwanted) conversions, and without (definitely unwanted) BSOD, life starts looking up.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent translating. I plan to check what I have completed tomorrow morning and send it off (along with an invoice, eh?), and then go finish the item I was working on next week, which although due next Monday is really due ASAP as of now. I have some non-translation, finance related stuff to do for the store before I leave for Texas.

The dill I planted a few days ago is coming up, which renews my spirits. There was I time I believed I was the owner of a genuine, 24-carat "brown thumb" (i.e., any plant I touch, dies), but lately, things seem to be thriving, especially the orchids (although strictly speaking, I try not to touch them, to keep from causing the flowers to wither and fall off).

* * *In other news, I finally tried the iPod card reader from Belkin. I had to scrape some gunk off a battery terminal to get a good connection, only to find out that - as far as SD cards are concerned - the unit's ability to recognize cards is... variable. It was not able to recognize the card from my Contax, but was able to recognize two of the cards I carry in my Zire 71 case (one consistently, one... not). I suspect it may be a question of good contact between the cards and the unit, but there doesn't seem to be any convenient way to open the unit and, like, inspect the contacts.

I haven't tried using CF cards yet, though I would expect better results. OTOH, I don't expect miracles.

At any rate, I am happy I only spent about $5 checking out the technology.

Cheers...

Cheers...