A definite Firefox problem...

I think. I can't really characterize it, except in general terms, but Firefox (or some extension) is playing merry hell with my desktop.

It did occur to me some time ago, when my desktop was BSODing every couple of hours or so, that perhaps a contributing reason for the crash was software related (clearly, a large part of the problem was hardware related; after swapping out memory, the incidence of BSOD has gone way down, but not to zero).

Lately, my destop has taken to displaying the BSOD while shutting down. When it happened a few days ago, the disk scan upon next boot found a problem with the Firefox file that holds the list of bookmarks (including those on the toolbar) and my link to the Google Notebook.

I really hadn't had the time to go do a "full restore," so I limped along until the night before last, when the desktop again threw a BSOD in my face during shutdown. Upon bootup the next morning, Firefox had lost the navigation toolbar customization and the search field no longer was linked to any search engine (and adding search engines from the Firefox site had no effect).

When I get the chance, I think I will do a fresh download of Firefox and then wipe what I have off my system and reinstall from scratch. It might not solve the underlying problems (currently, I'm thinking "all I have to do" to work around the problem is make sure all browser windows are closed before shutting down my desktop), but at least I'll have full functionality again.

When I get the chance, of course.

Cheers...

Restoring search engines in Firefox...

The desktop BSODed upon exiting Word (but with Firefox running... I know, I'm probably reaching here, but I figure some kind of virtual memory shuffle might have occurred when Word exited), so upon reboot, I deleted Firefox, used IE to download a fresh version, and relaunched Firefox.

Despite having been warned that Firefox and all components would be deleted, I was pleased to see my extensions and bookmarks were preserved. The search engine feature, however, was still dead.

A search of the Web indicated that the way to force a reset in Firefox was to run it in "safe mode." The following command line was suggested upon clicking on Start|Run...:

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe -safe-mode

However, the Run dialog box apparently didn't like the space after "Program," so I rewrote the command line as:

C:\Progra~1\Mozill~1\firefox.exe -safe-mode

The '~1' (which can also be '~2', '~3', etc.) is apparently some kind of throwback to the days of DOS, where all files and directories were restricted to 8-character names and 3-character extensions. A directory such as "Program Files" (13 characters, with an embedded space) has the "alternate name" of "Progra~1" (the first six characters + '~' + 'digit'). (If you were to create a directory called "Program Music" in the same directory as "Program Files," its alternate name would be "Progra~2," dig it?)

Anyway, upon executing the rewritten command, Firefox popped a dialog box asking, among other options, if I wanted to reset the program. I did so and 'pop!' my search engines are back.

It would appear I cannot work without a browser running, so I'll just have to save files often until it becomes clear if this reinstallation has helped.

Cheers...

A fairly long day...

I've been going to sleep "early" the past few nights (10:30 to 11 pm) and as a result - or maybe it's just the bright sunlight that pours into my bedroom - I'm generally awake and alert at about 6 am or so.

It's a good feeling.

Today, I managed to finish off the procedure that's been the bane of my existence - just kidding - for the past few days. I sent it off to the client, too, which is a good feeling. I little realized, as I worked on it, that the document weighed in at over 10,000 target words.

In between, I managed to do a short item having to do with supervising church construction in a cold part of Russia, and to edit about 3,000 words of "leftovers" from last week's editing binge.

These edits sort of bring home those instances where I have been provided with references and have chosen to ignore some part of them. And in exercising that marvelous part of the brain that does critical thinking (and provides rationalizations), it occurs to me that when I do it, there are several important differences that distinguish me from the hacks who worked on the items I edited.

Primo, when I exercise initiative (or bull-headedness, depending on your point of view), I'm working into English, my native language. If I were given the job of translating something into Russian and were given Russian references from a reliable source, you can bet I'd give the references the benefit of many doubts.

Segundo, it is rare that I completely ignore a reference, so when I do choose to ignore a term, I make sure I inform the client of the specific deviations I've adopted, and why (without pegging the pedant meter). This, by the way, combined with an unflagging consistency in using terms, makes it fairly easy for an editor to undo my "suggestion" if necessary.

Tercero, if I've been informed that the use of certain terms, etc. is crucial to maintain uniformity in some larger corpus, I'll either shrug and do what the client wants or drop 'em an email outlining why I think a correction is in order but, whatever the result, in the end, I hum the Burger King jingle and follow instructions.

I managed to stay out of the store today, which really boosted my productivity. What remains on the plate: two more procedures (I'll have mixed feelings if they're as large: 10,000 words is a lot of words, a lot of work, but a nice paycheck), two smaller edits, and a third procedure that I'm hoping someone can find a better copy of.

The VAIO is downloading what I hope is the release version of Ubuntu Dapper Drake 6.06. According to the update application, there are 22 minutes left in the download.

Cheers...