Pat Dyson

 

Has your computer seen a lot of mileage,and behaving like a cranky child? Did someone palm you off with pirated software, or did you knowingly choose to use someone else program, and run into all kinds of trouble because you couldn't download the updates to keep your machine healthy?

Well I can sympathize with you, because that is my dilemma lately. On top of that my Norton protection expired during my sabbatical from the net, and I can't afford to buy anything to resolve the problem until mid June, when I'll get some extra cash for my birthday.

In the meantime, while I research what's on the market to find out what suits my needs, I've taken up the challange to find out which cookies are feeding all those pesky ads onto my desktop while I'm trying to work.

Through some trial and error I'm learning how to take advantage of the tools (those on the bar between Favorites & Help). It never ceases to amaze me how much there is that I don't know about this machine I've taken for granted.

Anyway I was getting messages that my browser was full. Now I've got enough memory to choke a horse and was surprised to discover that most of my last 25% has been gobbled up by cookies, and unwanted links since I got back on the net a month ago. Google is actually blocking spam, but it seems to be geared only to stop it getting into my gmail.

While trouble shooting to discover how to empty my browser, I find out there is an option to delete one's net history, but I'm a bit leary of dumping that just yet, but you can see your list of cookies and it is staggering.

After figuring out how to open each one (double clicking on them, then clicking open)you can see where it came from and what flavor it is; however, at first glance it's just a lot of 'gobble de goop' but if you look at it like this: gobbledegoop, enough of it makes sense to get an idea of whether one needs to keep it to function with one of your servers.

For instance: jLogRandCookie....reviews.cnet. randomads, stands out after playing wordgames to come up with handles for sites, and passwords. Sometimes you'll see a name you recognize, which often helps in making the choice whether to keep it. They incorporate the word ad a lot; such as adjuggler, adcentriconline, adengage, admaniaserver. It also comes up before the company name; as in, ad.outerinfoads...... 21winningbaccaratsystem.

I hate the gambling ads, but they are easy to spot; somewhere near the bottom is a clear word associated with gambling, or the name of the site; such as casino, or something Palace. I usually try to ignore the content of the ads, but it does help to look at the address bar at the top when they get in your face, as you prepare to defeat the cookie monster. Some text files don't make any sense at all; I've decided to leave them alone for awhile.

Whoever loads them into our computers is really sneaky too. The cookies are hooked to the names of the people who have accounts on the computer (when you have Windows Professional), and hide them in innocent sounding files like, Pat & dad. I'm so pleased I managed to get rid of one porn file.

I sat at it for about two hours, and only got about 10% of the way down the scroll bar, so it's going to be an ongoing process. Only time will tell if I'm crushing cookies of those third parties we have to grant the right to put ads on our space to use a service, but what the heck they have no right to steal all our memory and make us run the gauntlet to access our e-mail; or to invade our space when we are trying to compose a blog. I've had so many pile up behind the page that it freezes up. I must say though that there aren't quite as many tonight.

The reason I'm blogging about this, is for the benefit of those who are in the same boat as me, and not sure where to start; and even worrying if there is anything they can do. I'll start a troubleshooting tag, for any interesting updates for those who may be interested. If you are reading this, and can add a little sage advice, please leave a response; it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I can't think of the names of any characters just now, but I do relate to stories of those who are bent on solving a mystery. I grew up with Robin Hood, The Count of Montecristo, and The Scarlet Pimpernel, so I still enjoy a good tale about the battle between good and evil.

Yesterday I spent hours researching 'spam' ending up with a host of mixed feelings, but determined not to activate any ads; including Microsoft.

It's ironic that all those things we agree not to do, when we accept programs, are all done to us by those making the rules, or the third parties that use their service. It's a quagmire that sucks you in.

Well I'm going to work on the plans for my balcony garden; thank God I have this to distract me from what I can't change.

I've been on my computer for two hours, and all I've done is fight with pop-up windows: unwanted ads that have no obvious escape; pop-up messages every five minutes, urging you to buy anti-spy and virus software.

The irony is that all this b.s. is what you promise not to do when you sign up with net servers, and software producers.

It's a long story, but I knew--after the fact--that my Window XP was pirated, but couldn't afford to do anything about it; a downside of getting your computer package through 'a friend' One of my pop- up messages is polite hourly reminders that I need to resolve the problem. Don't you hate reminders of things you can't do anything about?

All of this pop-up stuff interferes with what you are doing. Sometimes the computer freezes up after a battle with some invading attention grabber. It all reminds me of a Sci-Fi story I read, before I had a computer; maybe ten years ago.

The scenareo was the need to constantly buy new invasion protection; the victims of all the crap that comes with connection to cyberspace is always one step ahead of those building programs to fight the new innovations. After this past week I'm beginning to think it's all more trouble than it's worth; it's like raking leaves in the fall, or shovelling snow in a storm; it's a loosing battle.
It takes all the fun out of being on the net.

But thank God, things are relatively normal at the moment. If I were still superstitious I'd touch wood. Just saying that causes a little angst to stir in my heart. I just pray I don't trip on the changes of procedure at LJ as I post this.

Coming back to a Blog site after sixteen months absence is like not seeing a small child for that long; the development is astounding.

The replies from Sketchydoodles is full of wonderful art. I am eager to comment to all of them. I was in a real funk from such a great isolation; I'd forgotten that Blogging keeps you sane. Life had become so dull I was: reading for distraction: playing computer solitaire; and taking sleeping pills to shut off at will.

I didn't realize it, but my recent lack of ambition was a result of having nothing to plan for. Is that pathetic, or was I just missing the chances to spread around a little encouragement?

Mixed feelings plagued me when I let my son talk me into applying for a package with Primus, to get back on the net. The idea of the extra cost at this time is not something i wanted to deal with; however, just seeing all the entries on my sight gives me something worth planning. It will illiminate my need for distraction; it will be all the distraction i need, until the weather gets nice enough to plant some seeds, and get my seedlings out in balcony pots.

A few days prior to New Years Eve, my son and I, transfered to a bigger apartment with southern exposure on the balcony. So I'm planning to outdo 'The Hanging Garden of Babylon.' I've really missed having the ability to grow some of my own food, and herbs. It's only the slow approach to real spring weather that had dampened my plans; plus the cost of enough potting to fill the huge pots. Fortunately it can be done in stages between now and June, so I'm not going to fret over that.

Anyway, I'm back: I'll have a new e-mail address; I like that messages come to my e-mail when I have a response to a blog entry, and I can respond to it on the spot; hopefully it will be finalized tomorrow--there was some trouble with MSN's system that could be solved the next time I log in. It's now just past 4am--I must be having fun; I haven't been up this late in a long time. I'm so tired I probably don't need a sleeping pill. Don't you just love how quickly things can turn around, especially when it pulls you out of a pit?

A Stormy Afternoon.

Rachmaninoff stirs the savage breast
of my restless soul longing for rest,
poised on a rocky shore I see
the pounding waves caressing me.

The wind plays games with my hair
attempting to soothe away every care.

Oh how I ache to be
strolling beside a wild savage sea,
communing with the passions of nature
which brings soothing sensations of rapture.


I spent the day yesterday scanning a bunch of pictures into the computer. Then I posted a bunch of doodles into sketchydoodles, and plan to update my user pics before the day is over.

If you read my Nov. 1st journal update, you will know I maybe on a forced sabbatical for awhile. It will happen a day sooner than expected, and there will be no buying time; they want payment in full when the service guy shows up at my door at 9am tomorrow. Unless I get that miracles I'm hoping for
then today's effort will not be wasted.

I am going to search the net sometime today, to see if I can find the address of one of those computer coffee shops in my neighborhood. I don't have to be entirely cut off, and it will give me the exercise I need, which I have been neglecting since I became a blogging slave.

I found a site where I can publish my book; a lead from Google when I couldn't get Adsense on my web site. I am going to enter the full first chapter of my book today; if you are interested the URL is:
http://patdysonsblog.blogspot.com

This is really ironic: to be cut off, just when I'm getting the hang of LJ blogging, and have enough very interesting friends to keep me busy; oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. To be sure, I will be back to pick-up where I left off.

This is some quick sketches I copied from someone else work. I was trying to loosen up.




This is our last two cats: Bootes (the black mother), and Dickens, the last of the litter that we kept. They got left on the farm, which we homesteaded, with the new renters; it just didn't seem fair to bring them back to civilization. After that we couldn't bear having anymore pets.




Another quickie animal doodle; done same day as the other animal quickies.




Some efforts to create cartoon characters.




It's an orange.




An early portrait, sketched from an ad, which I haven't used in my gallery-workshop, or included in the archive yet.





Some notes and sketches for an idea I had for one of my Illustrated Manuscripts. If you'd like to see some finished pieces go to: http://pats-cyberspace.tripod.com Look for the gallery/archive pages. There is actually 3 sites: this URL links them all together. If you follow the leads there
is Disney coloring pictures in the kids pages.




I don't think I got this one in there yet.




This Illustrated Manuscript is not in my web sites either yet; this is the first time it has been presented for public display.




This is another one; I'm on a roll here today. I may not be around for awhile after the 3rd, so I'm
making the most of it.




One night, when I lived at my brothers chalet; about 1980, I noticed my reflection in the thermopane window. The overhead light created an image that looked like a Picasso painting. I couldn't resist
sitting with my sketchbook propped on my knee doing this.




This is a little warm up exercise. I like to work with pencil when I haven't painted in awhile.










These last three are prelinaries, in sequence, for an eerie self portrait. The face highlights were done in very soft white, kind of ghostlike; the stars were the focal point. I had had a dream which suggested that the moles on my face and neck, if laid out flat, made up the constallation Gemin. I was into Astrology at the time. The end result was great; it's hanging on my cousins wall in England now.

Hey look at this, I just figured out how to post more than one picture. I don't need to tell you which is Rocky, Shebon and Scratch. The rabbit is Bobby; my son saved hom from someones soup pot. He got along famously with Bootes, the female black cat. Got her after Scratch went missing.

Bobby used to run free, and he's go pee in the cat litter; wasn't fastidious about his little pellets, but they were hard so it was no problem Took him off to the zoo when he got mature enough to think Bootes was his mate.

The Shepherd is Yankee. He wasn't sure what to make of Bobby; he was used to chasing rabbits out in the bush, but he never tried to hurt Bobby.

Hope you enjoy these.