New Windows Computer - Ulcer

Spiny wheel. Thanks for your patience.
Spiny wheel. We're still working.
Spiny wheel. Please don't turn off your device.
Spiny wheel. Still setting things up.

repeat.... repeat.... repeat.... repeat.... repeat.... repeat....
repeat.... repeat.... repeat.... repeat.... repeat.... repeat....
repeat.... repeat........................

OK, we got through this part of setup...... Now let's see what's new
from Windows.

wait... wait... wait..... finally it's done.

So, the out-of-box experience is fine for most new systems but this
particular one just took a while.  Microsoft, I don't mind it doing what
it needs to do, but some status info showing real progress would help
people's nerves worldwide.

Windows Defender and Thunderbird

Because Windows Defender bogs down Thunderbird for no good reason, you can to disable real-time protection temporarily to get back to work:

1. Click Windows button and type 'Windows Defender settings'
2. Click on the Defender Security  Center
3. Click on Virus & threat protection
4. Click on Virus & threat protection settings

...correct! they didn't make the organization of Widows Defender intuitively easy did they?!

5. Turn Real-time protection off





You can add your Thunderbird profile directory into the "Add or remove exclusions" list and this should let you turn Real-time protection back on.

Microsoft, fix this!

Braun Mechanic light plastic crack

Tilting the light bar of Harbor Freight's Braun 390 lumen magnetic led work light (Part # 63958) can cause the plastic to fracture at it's base.   Therefore use the base, not the end of the light, to tilt the light bar.  

In this image, I used two zip ties to strengthen the plastic base.   The manufacturer needs to make this metal.

Update: 3d printing a tight fitted sleeve part is another way to go.  PLA plastic is some hard stuff.

Thunderbird Unresponsive script

This is not a howto fix but a gripe.    When moving large amounts of emails within Thunderbird, you'll frequently get this popup:



Of course, you want to click Continue so it completes but you'll also also want to see future LEGIT warnings too.  Mozilla folks should look into not displaying fake "unresponsive script" messages when the program is indeed actively moving the emails just fine.   This is too unnerving and a bug!

Check Your Vendor's TLS Certificate Expiration Dates

If you run a business that takes credit cards, then it's a pretty cool day when your credit card processor lets their SSL/TLS certificates expire.  Not only did they let this happen on one of their domains, it happened again on another important one.



Remember the day when you ran a business without needing to be dependent on this many variables?

The referenced assembly is not installed on your system

Press the WINDOWSKEY + R
It should give you a run box.
paste this into the field and click OK

%userprofile%\Appdata\Local\Apps\2.0

Browse into these folders and if all the files you see pertain to the
program you're having trouble with, then just delete all the folders
within the 2.0 directory.   Your program should then work.

Ryobi 40 Volt Battery - Reflash Fix

I'm hearing that the 2.4 Ah and 5 Ah batteries have an internal memory chip counter with a software bug. There is an int variable that should be a bigint. The battery stops working because of an overflow bug. Ryobi has found the bug and can reflash the battery. If the battery has sat too long the cells might be physically damaged and they can't reflash it so don't wait.

Random USB Mouse disconnect sounds

My beloved Dell desktop kept making random Device Disconnect system sounds - but not Device Connect sounds.    It seemed to happen mostly when I move my mouse over windows which were rendering heavy graphics, ie. a webpage.

I got annoyed with the system sound happening several times per hour.  Fortunately a program called USBDeview helped prove it was my mouse disconnecting as the "Created Date" kept updating when I heard the sound even though my mouse moved and didn't miss a beat.  So time for a new mouse.

I don't know why there was no Connect sound or how the "Last Plug/Unplug Date" didn't also update since my mouse kept working.   Regardless, USBDeview is a good tool for your toolbox.

Just in case future generations forget....

Traditionally, standing at attention during the National Anthem or the Presentation of Colors ceremonies is a sign of respect.   

So if you, the person reading this years from now, doesn't understand why this NFL team (Jacksonville Jaguars) is kneeling, consider these facts: 


Eschewing league rules to stand, this team affirms and demonstrates their constitutional right to protest.
This team is visually displaying a "message" to everyone that there is a perceived injustice or intolerance afoot. 
The ceremony is meant to be reverenced.
The ceremony is meant to be a unifying act for all Americans.
This team says they are loyal Americans and love America.
This team chooses to ignore tradition and instead protest during the ceremony.
Photographers seem exempt of decorum though the ceremony (had to say).
Some on this team didn't like what the U.S. President said and decided to protest America. 

Protesting during a reverent American ceremony is...... I'll let you decide if this is respectful or disrespectful.

Bonus Fact:
AFC Championship Jan. 21st, 2018:  New England Patriots 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 20

Hoorah!

My new stock answer for these soul-draining marketers

Original Message:

Hi Eric,

We are BLEND - and we think a strategic partnership between our two companies could significantly move the needle for you. As a full service digital agency, that's what we do… create content and technology that resonates emotionally, but is built on a solid foundation of KPI and ROI.

In other words - we get results.

blah... blah.... blah.....

My Reply:

We are absolutely pumped about your agile marketing engagement and value proposition to work synergistically with our results-driven growth hackers who think outside-the-box and are best of breed in today's results driven world.  There is no doubt that the cost-per-click and cost-per-like model increasingly seeks a defender for out-of-pocket justification by the Go-To person who negotiates pre-launch campaigns.  As Scrum Leader, I enthusiastically employ the custom activation model to realize ROI and analyze KPI throughout the value-added ideation process. Have you every asked yourself how a Realm Oracle can curate big data to perform deep dive gamification of authentic geotargeting PPC, SEO and not to mention SEM?  This strategic forward-thinking team player must let loose the Social Media Visualizations which are internally streamlined via n-way conversations which are dynamic to marketing automation.  In summary, Influencer Marketing can only be created, achieved, managed, improved and mentored successfully when there is hard working leadership with extensive experience and creative synergy to garner full conceptual continuity and context of social commerce without overly showrooming their detail-oriented aggregation of inforgraphics and influencer analytics and to motivate go-getters and thought leaders who simply want to maximize SUCCESS!

In closing, we're ok right now.