Blank "User Accounts" in Control Panel
* as displayed from: http://www.paulscomputerservice.net/index.php?body=./software/blankusercontrol.php
Issue:
When you click on "User Accounts" in control panel on a computer running Windows XP it shows up blank. Only displaying the back, forward, and home buttons. Other components of Windows XP may also show up blank including "Windows Search" and any MMC console snap-in including services.msc.
Solution:
Type these commands from Start, Run dialog:
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 nusrmgr.cpl
regsvr32 /i mshtml.dll
If any of these command displays an error try running this command first and then the rest when the program completes:
"sfc /scannow"
Your Windows XP CD may be required
Emilys first day at school. Today, Tuesday Jan 22, 2007, Age 3.
 |  |
 |  |
She did not shed one tear, but I can not say the same for myself.
--------------------
Joseph Dix
Emilys first day at school. Today, Tuesday Jan 22, 2007, Age 3.
--
Joseph Dix
10+ tweaks, tricks, and hacks to make Windows Vista fly
by Mark Kaelin
1: Add the Run command to the Start Menu
Beginning way back with the release of Windows 1.0, Microsoft has been all about the GUI interface (more or less effectively). But sometimes you just want to run a program without having to navigate the GUI maze of menus and folders. Windows Vista, by default, does not include the Run command on the Start Menu. This was a common and favorite feature of Windows XP.
To add the Run command back to the Vista Start Menu, follow these steps:
- Right click the Taskbar in an open area
- Click on Properties
Click on the Start Menu tab (See Figure A)
| Figure A |
 |
| Taskbar and Start Menu Properties |
- Click the Customize button to get to the Customize Start Menu
Scroll down the list until you find the Run command checkbox and check it (See Figure B).
- Click OK and the Run command will now appear on the Start Menu.
| Figure B |
 |
| Customize Start Menu |
2. Disable the Welcome Center and Sidebar
The Windows Vista default setting is to show the Welcome Center on startup. While the Welcome Center is mildly interesting the first time you see it, you will quickly tire of it appearing every time you boot your Vista PC. This behavior is easily changed by unchecking the Run a Startup button located at the bottom of the Welcome Center as shown in Figure C.
| Figure C |
 |
| Welcome Center |
Similarly, the Vista Sidebar is also on by default. While some users will find the Sidebar and its widgets useful, many will desire the desktop real estate and underlying resources for other more productive uses. You can turn the Sidebar off by:
- Right clicking the Windows Sidebar icon in the system tray
- Click Properties
- Uncheck the Start Sidebar when Windows starts checkbox (See Figure D)
- Click OK
| Figure D |
 |
| Windows Sidebar Properties |
3: Change the Product Key
A Windows Vista installation disk essentially has all of the various editions of Vista included on that one disk. Which version gets installed is dependent on what product key you enter during the installation process. At some point you may want to upgrade your current version to a version with more bells and whistles, which would require a new Product Key.
Or you may want to Activate your Windows Vista under a different Product Key for some reason. The easiest way to change your Product Key is through the System applet in the Control Panel. (See Figure E)
| Figure E |
 |
| System applet |
Under the Windows Activation section there is a link: Change Product Key. Clicking that link brings up the screen shown in Figure F where you can enter in a different Product Key.
| Figure F |
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| Windows Activation |
4: Start Windows Explorer at somewhere other than documents
While Windows Vista has desktop search that will theoretically allow you the option of merely typing in a location on your hard disk to get an Explorer view, some users will undoubtedly prefer to use Windows Explorer. By default, Windows Explorer in Vista shows you the files located in the user Documents folder. Follow these steps to have Windows Explorer start in a different folder:
- Copy the Windows Explorer shortcut, usually found in the Start Menu under Accessories, to the Desktop.
- Right click the shortcut and click properties.
Click on the Shortcut tab to get the window shown in Figure G.
| Figure G |
 |
| Windows Explorer Properties |
- Change the Target filed to the desired location.
For example, to have Windows Explorer start at C:\ type in"
C:\Windows\explorer.exe /n, /e, c:\- Click OK
5: Privacy tweak
As a convenience, Windows Vista by default saves and displays a list of recently opened files and programs on the Start Menu. Ostensibly, this is supposed to make it easier to find a file or program. However, many users would prefer that information to remain hidden. Here is how to turn it off:
- Right click the Taskbar and click Properties on the resulting menu
- Click the Start Menu tab
Uncheck the checkboxes under Privacy (See Figure H)
- Click OK
| Figure H |
 |
| Privacy settings |
6: Smaller icons on Start Menu
The icons located on the Windows Vista Start Menu default to large (Figure I).
| Figure I |
 |
| Large icons |
For many users, the personal preference will be for those icons to be much smaller. Here is how:
- Right click the Taskbar and click on Properties
- Click the Start Menu tab
- Click the Customize button
- Scroll down to the bottom of the list (See Figure J)
- Uncheck the Use large icons checkbox
- Click OK twice
| Figure J |
 |
| No more large icons |
7. Add Internet Explorer to the Vista Desktop
For some reason known only to the Windows Vista development team, there is no easy option to add the Windows Explorer icon to the Vista Desktop. You can add Computer, Recycle Bin, and the Control Panel --- perhaps someone can explain that to us. In the meantime, if you want to add Internet Explorer you can do it with a Registry hack. Before editing the Windows Registry it is always advisable to make a backup of the Registry file.
- Click the Start button
- Open the Run dialog box (or type regedit in to the search box on the Start Menu)
- Type in regedit and press Enter
- Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel - Create a new DWORD 32-bit by right clicking in the key area (See Figure K)
- Copy this as the key name including the brackets:
{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} - Close regedit
- Right click on the Desktop and click the Refresh menu entry --- Internet Explorer should now appear.
| Figure K |
 |
| Regedit Internet Explorer |
8: Change Security Center notifications
One of the most often leveled criticisms of Windows has been its lack of security. To overcome that perception Microsoft had programmed Vista to complain loudly and often if it discovers your malware, firewall or virus protection software is off or requires maintenance. For many users, the constant badgering to update your virus definitions is more annoying then effective. To calm Vista down a bit you can change the way you are notified of potential lax security.
Open the control panel and click the Windows Security Center as shown in Figure L.
| Figure L |
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| Windows Security Center |
Click the link Change the way Security Center alerts me to reach the dialog box shown in Figure M.
Choose you preference for notification
| Figure M |
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| Chose your preference |
9: Set Folder options
One of the first things experienced users change when they get a new Windows computer is change the Folder View options to a preferred setting. Windows Vista is no exception to this rule.
- Open the Control Panel and click on the Folder Options icon
- Click on the View tab (See Figure N)
| Figure N |
 |
| Folder options |
- Check or uncheck your folder preferences --- some suggestions:
- Check show hidden files and folders
- Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
- Uncheck protected operating system files
10: Adjust power settings
By default, Windows Vista sets the power options to what it calls a "Balanced" plan. While for many users this plan will be adequate, there are many who will want to make adjustments. For laptop users specifically, settings can vary greatly when operating on battery power versus plugged into an outlet. To adjust power settings:
Open the Control Panel and then click the Power Options icon (See Figure O)
| Figure O |
 |
| Power Options |
Click on the Change Plan Settings under one of the default plans to make changes (See Figure P)
| Figure P |
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| Power settings |
For additional fine tuning click Change advanced power settings (See Figure Q)
| Figure Q |
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| Advanced power settings |
11: Reduce Desktop Icons
By default, the Windows Vista Aero GUI uses what it classifies as "Medium" icons on the Desktop. Medium in this case is really quite large. (There is also a Large icon setting, but we won't go there.) To bring the icons back to a less eye-popping size:
- Right click on the Desktop
- Choose the View menu item
- Change to Classic Icons (Figure R)
| Figure R |
 |
| Classic |
12 Add another time zone
For many of us working away from home offices at satellite offices, home or on the road, knowing the time across various time zones can be a necessary evil. Windows Vista will allow you to keep time in two additional time zones to the machine time.
- Right click on the time display located in Taskbar System Tray
- Select the Adjust Date/Time menu item
- Click on the Additional Clocks tab (See Figure S)
| Figure S |
 |
| Add clocks |
- Choose a time zone
- Click the checkbox next to Show this clock
- Click OK
Now when you mouse over the time in the Taskbar System Tray you will get the time in your chosen time zones.
Tweaking Windows Vista so it can run a bit faster
The Aero Theme
If you read my "Aero Theme is bad, disable it" article (insert link) you will understand why the Aero Theme is bad for your computer's resource usage, if you haven't gotten that insight yourself already.
Disabling the Aero theme is easy, however Microsoft went through some hoops to make you look for the option. Once you know where it is it's easy.
Right-click an empty spot on your desktop and click Personalize. Click on the Window Color and Appearance link. Click on the "Open classic appearance properties for more color options" link.
BTW, you can also run the following command from the Run option in the Start menu:
Next, select any of the available themes, such as the Windows Classic theme.
If you need to reserve as much system resources as possible in order to run other applications or services, Aero is bad for you. Lose it.
The Aero theme has another “undocumented” feature you might want to consider. If you’re using Vista on a laptop computer you might notice that Vista drains your batter life much faster than you’d expect. I don’t have details on exactly how much battery life is reduced when using Vista Aero, but many websites report seeing this reduction.
When Aero is turned off, battery life is equal to or better than Windows XP systems. But with it turned on, battery life suffers compared with Windows XP.
If you’re using a laptop and care about your battery life, turn off Aero!
File copying
One of the most annoying "features" of Windows Vista is the fact that although it boasts a much faster TCP/IP stack and other re-designed items that can make networking much faster, from my experience (and by reading about this issue on the Internet – for many many more people) Windows Vista is much slower in performing file copy and move operations. This is true both for the local file copy (i.e. from one partition to the other), or a network file copy (via shared folders or mapped network drives).
I looked all over for a solution (if you happen to know one, please let me know). Some of my findings and a few possible solutions will be listed here. Note that not ALL Vista users will experience such slow response, but if you feel that since you've installed Windows Vista on your machine it has suddenly become much slower when copying files, then feel free to try one or more of these solutions. Again, I'd appreciate it If you could share your findings. The list of solutions is not presented in any particular order.
- Disable Remote Differential Compression
One of the solutions you may look into is to disable and remove the Remote Differential Compression feature in Vista.
Remote Differential Compression (RDC) allows applications to synchronize data between two computers in an efficient manner. The synchronization efficiency is made possible by using compression techniques to minimize the amount of data sent across the network. RDC is suitable for applications that move data across a wide area network where the data transmission costs outweigh the CPU cost of signature computation. RDC can also be used on faster networks if the amount of data to be transferred is relatively large and the changes to the data are typically small.
Open Control Panel and in the Programs node, click the Uninstall a Program link.
In the Uninstall or Change a Program window, click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off link.
BTW, you can also type the following command from the Run option:
In the Windows Features window click to un-select the Remote Differential Compression checkbox and click Ok.
This *should* increase network performance a bit. If you do not notice any improvement you can always turn the feature on.
- Disable TCP Autotuning
Vista's issues with slow browsing and network operations can be, in part, due to problematic network devices such as NICs and routers, but also because the new TCP Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level. You can read more about this issue in the "Browsing websites gets painfully slow with Windows Vista" page, but here is the drilldown:
- Click Start and type CMD.
- Press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER to open the command Prompt with Administrative rights.
- At the prompt in the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
Now reboot your machine and see if it helps. In most cases, you will notice an improvement in file copy performance.
- Install hotfix 931770
Some of you might have noticed a slow down or a non-response message when copying a file across the network. The copy process may stop responding (or hang), and you might get this message:
Calculating Time Remaining
0 minutes remaining
Microsoft has issued a fix for ALL versions of Vista that should correct the problem. However the hotfix is NOT publicly available, and you need to call PSS and ask for it.
The copy process may stop responding when you try to copy files from a server on a network to a Windows Vista-based computer - 931770
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/931770
Note that unless you are experiencing this problem, do not apply the fix.
You *might* be able to find that (and other hotfixes) available here, but I strongly advise against doing so. The *right* place to get ANY hotfix from is PSS…
The Hotfix Share Download Section - index/Language Neutral/Vista/:
http://hotfix.xable.net/download/index.php?dir=Language Neutral/Vista
Make sure you've got the latest drivers for ALL your hardware components
But especially for the Mother board, disks, network (including your wireless network card) and display cards (pay a close attention to those nVidia chips!). I've seen people complain about Vista's bad performance and when they installed the latest driver from the manufacturer's site (and some less known or OEM manufacturers try hard to hide their updates…), the performance issues were all but gone.
Make sure you've updated your 3rd-party Anti-Virus/Firewall/Anti-Spyware program
Like in the previous tip, many 3rd-party software vendors simply did not plan ahead fast enough for Vista, and having a not-so-optimal Anti-Virus software that isn't designed for Vista might be the cause of many performance issues. I've seen people disable their McAfee software that came bundled with their laptop/desktop computers and since then they've been happy. Try it yourself, see what performance changes you get.
Disable Indexing
While indexing is one of Microsoft's new puppies in Windows Vista, boasting of endless options and tons of user productivity due to the fast manner in which the results are brought up, I find the old fashioned way of simply knowing where I put everything much better.
Even if you do enjoy the luxury of using the search feature in Vista, remember that it is exactly that. A luxury. And if you are using your machine and wish to bring out the most of it, then you could consider disabling the Indexing of files and mailboxes on your computer.
Note that Vista has 2 indexing options – One is the Desktop Indexing feature, and the second is the Index Server service which is NOT installed by default.
- Method 1 – disable unnecessary indexing of files or folders
Open Indexing Options from the Control Panel, or run the following command from the Run option:
Next, in the Indexing Options window, click Modify.
Now uncheck any V in any checkbox you see, and leave just the start menu, if you so wish.
- Method 2 – disable indexing altogether
However, based upon my tests, just removing checkboxes from the Indexing Options window will not stop the relevant processes from launching. Therefore, if you need to totally disable the indexing feature you will need to disable the Windows Search services and stop it from running.
Although Microsoft claims that the indexing in Vista is configured to it will not run in high priority manner and will always allow other, more important processes to gain access to resources before it, disabling the Windows Search service is mostly useful when using Vista on virtual machines (for example when running multiple instances of Vista on the same physical computer) or for other testing scenarios, and no less important – when using 3rd-party indexing solutions (such as Google's Desktop Search). Although the indexing is supposed to give priority to other tasks, I often saw the indexing-related processes (these are SearchProtocolHost, SearchFilterHost and SearchIndexer) active even though my computer was working on other tasks. This can tremendously decrease the overall performance. Plus, many users have reported "hearing" their computer's hard disks thrashing and frantically working for minutes and even hours, trying to index the masses of files that they have stored in their personal folders.
From Control Panel open Administrative Tools > Services. You can also type the following command from the Run option:
Scroll down to find the Windows Search service. Double-click it, and in the Startup type list configure it to be Disabled (you can always re-enable it by configuring it back to Automatic). Next, click to Stop the service.
Delete the index folder
After reading the previous tip, if you do not need to re-enable indexing and you do not care about the already-built index (for example when using virtual machines) you might also want to delete the local index. The index is usually located under the following path: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft
This folder is hidden, so you need to enable the display of hidden files and folders from the Explorer window.
Open Windows Explorer, click on ALT, then from the now-visible menus click Tools > Folder Options.
In the View tab click to select Show hidden files and folders, and also to un-select the Hide protected operating system files checkbox.
Browse to the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search folder. Look at the folder's properties. In my computer, with ONLY the Start menu and the mailbox being indexed, this takes almost 500 MB. Full indexing of personal folders will take anywhere between 1 and 2 GB of disk space.
If you want, and you've disabled the Windows search service as described in the previous tip, you can delete the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search folder.
Disable hibernation
Hibernation is a term used for laptops and portable computers. You can read more about it on my "Quickly Enable or Disable Vista Hibernation" article. As the article describes, working with windows Vista on a laptop computer will AUTOMATIICALLY enable hibernation, and thus will create a file called hiberfil.sys with the size of your installed physical memory (RAM, and I have 4 GB of it) on your system partition (usually the C: drive). Since Vista already takes around 10 to 11 GB of disk space (after installing Office 2007 and a couple more applications, nothing fancy or big), not including the pagefile.sys file which too will take as much as your installed RAM – if you do not need hibernation you will also save valuable disk space.
With that said, not everyone needs the capabilities of hibernation in their laptop computers. I, for one, found out that hibernating my laptop is bad for my personal needs, mostly because when you resume your working state you find that any virtual machines you had running (even if they were saved BEFORE entering hibernation) will stop responding properly. So I simply use Standby (or Sleep) mode on my working laptops.
Note that the hibernation status of your laptop has nothing to do with actual system performance, however the fact that it is enabled causes less disk space to be available for other purposes.
Open Command Prompt with administrative privileges (see above for instructions on how to do that), then type in the following command:
There is no need to reboot the computer and the hibernation file will be automatically deleted.
A note about memory usage on Vista
This topic will probably soon become an article on itself, but for now please make a mental note that unlike previous Microsoft operating systems, Windows Vista handles memory in a different manner. I will not go into these issues fully here, but the rule of thumb is – the more physical memory you have (RAM), the more Vista is going to use. Install Vista on a computer with 521 MB of RAM and you'll see that Vista will use less than 400 MB of RAM for the basic running OS. Try running Vista on a machine with 2 GB or RAM and you'll see it uses 800-900 MB of RAM.
As long as you don't need to use the machine for many memory-intensive tasks (such as running virtual machines or graphic intensive programs) then you'll be fine. But if you do need the machine to perform other memory-intensive tasks, I'd consider trying Windows XP or moving to a server type OS.
Limit computer times...
By using this technique you can limit when your children or employees are
able to use a system.
I have used this multiple times. Two examples...
My children have personal accounts on our home box and log-in to the
internet from these accounts. Using this technique I can make sure that
they can only log-in during certain times of the day (as in when I can
supervise them.)
Several computers at my office had been getting crazy stuff installed on
them at night. Some employees were staying all night surfing and absorbing
bandwidth. This technique limits their use to more appropriate hours.
Here are the steps to activate limitations:
1. Click on the Start Menu
2. Click Run
3. Type CMD in the Open textbox and click OK
4. In the command window type:
net user accountname /times:M-F,8am-8pm; Sa,8am-5pm;Su,8am-1pm
Replace accountname with the name of the account you wish to limit. The
time command is a bit tricky, but the above example is easy to replace
with the appropriate values. Here's microsoft's further information
regarding the format of the time command:
Quote:
Specifies the times that users are allowed to use the computer. Time is
limited to 1-hour increments. For the day values, you can spell out or use
abbreviations (that is, M,T,W,Th,F,Sa,Su). You can use 12-hour or 24-hour
notation for hours. If you use 12-hour notation, use AM and PM, or A.M.
and P.M. The value all means a user can always log on. A null value
(blank) means a user can never log on. Separate day and time with commas,
and units of day and time with semicolons (for example,
M,4AM-5PM;T,1PM-3PM). Do not use spaces when designating times.
Here are the steps to turn off limitations:
1. Click on the Start Menu
2. Click Run
3. Type CMD in the Open textbox and click OK
4. In the command window type:
net user accountname /times:all
Once again, replace accountname with the name of the account you wish to
change.
New employer
I now work for Heartland On-Site Services, a truely local Kansas City company that provides computer rescue and repair services to area homes and businesses. Call me at 913.449.7121 or visit the website at www.HeartlandOnsite.com
Update - Major: hadababy-itsaboy
My last post referred to the early indications of a boy. Well here we are and the absolute truth has been shown to us. Saturday Mar 24 2007 is celebrated with the birth of my first son Jacob weighing in at 8 lbs and 12oz.
Over the last week, since his birth, I have been missing more sleep than I thought I could do without, but not nearly as much as Jennifer. Katy and Emily are taking the new arrival well, which is always good. So far, I was say that most of the time, he is just like Emily, very low key and easy going.
At just five days old he had completely regained his birth-weight plus an ounce.
I could not be happier.
-Joe.
It's a boy
Yes, it's true on Halloween 2006 Jen and I were told that our new baby would be a boy. Wow, this is so exciting. I can hardly contain my excitement. Names, hmmm. I always thought that a III would be nice, but I am not convinced that it would be our finest choice.
Finally made the last trip.
We have completed our move. Wow, that is something I do NOT want to do again. I think I would rather sell everything I own and start over in an empty house. But anyway, now the other hard part, unpacking and organizing. Make me wish I had a dumpster. We, thanks to Vonage we were able to keep our really cool and somewhat attached to phone number. More to come. - Joe
Were Moving
Everything is on track to have our house sold and the new one purchased come Aug 20. We have started packing and purging. Wow we have a lot of junk.
My camping weekend at Stockton Lake State Park in Missouri was a nice. It is a nice park and very nice lake. -Joe
What a couple of weeks.
Alot has happened in the last two weeks, some I can talk about and some I will hold on until a more appropriate time. We are looking at moving, more details before the end of the month.
Got a nice little camping trip lined up this weekend at Stockton Lake SP in Missouri, and now that the weather has finally broke, looks like highs in the mid-80's and lows in the mid-60's. Who could ask for better weather.
Absent minded...
Today I seemed a little absent minded. I seemed to be forgetting things over the last 5 days but I can't remember why. Never anything major, just small stuff that causes myself some minor inconviences. Oh well. Maybe I have a lot on my mind / plate. Btw- We are house hunting.
Back to Blogger.com
I was, for a short time (6 months) using Myspace.com as my preferred blogging location, but after 6 months, all I was getting was junk! Myspace.com is a pile of crap, I am sure the initial idea was grand, but without appropriate safeguards it has turned into another perverted black den on the internet. I should be scrapped and maybe, I said maybe, restarted anew.
3/18/2006 - php practice
Just finished setting up new php documents and menu interface, can you tell the difference?
3/06/2006 - ForSale
I have explored and to some small extent have learned a very small portion of PHP, I have developed a very simple ForSale list that will show up in the upcoming update of the links page. For a sneak preview visit ForSale
2/26/2006 - Need a radio?
Well, during my pursuit of personal knowledge, I learned how to map to streaming radio. You can see and use my exploits here at http://www.joedix.com/radio All of these radio stations are normally available online without a password or any such protection. I have simply made some of my favorites and some I would like to hear often available in a single location. At the bottom of the page you will notice two things. One is that if you have a favorite online station (window media player broadcast) let me know and I just might add it to the list. The second is that you now have the ability to randomly send me money via paypal.com. Just click on the paypal button and set the quanity, it is in increments of $2.50, i.e. Quanity 10 would send me $25.00, and that would be cool. Later all. ~joe
2/14/2006 - 509properties.com
Today I won a couple of matching access points to put around my house. That should be fun. I also nixed the www.509properties.com website, still have the domain for another year. Know anyone that wants it? - btw Happy Valentines Day.
Need a Radio?
Well, during my pursuit of personal knowledge, I learned how to map to streaming radio. You can see and use my exploits here at http://www.joedix.com/radio All of these radio stations are normally available online without a password or any such protection. I have simply made some of my favorites and some I would like to hear often available in a single location. At the bottom of the page you will notice two things. One is that if you have a favorite online station (window media player broadcast) let me know and I just might add it to the list. The second is that you now have the ability to randomly send me money via paypal.com. Just click on the paypal button and set the quanity, it is in increments of $2.50, i.e. Quanity 10 would send me $25.00, and that would be cool.
Later all. ~joe
Busy on the new bathroom.
Pulled an allnighter last night. Got some good work done.
Ready to lay all the flooring.
Ready to tile the shower.
Ready to install the sink and toilet.
busy busy busy...
I am tired.
Pictures to follow soon.
BadDrivers
During rush hour! A person, that could have been a woman was driving a White Toyota Tacoma, Kansas tag number VSV464 on I-35 northbound in the left through traffic lane while I was in far left exit only lane, she did not have her signal on and proceeded to flip me the bird. She then accelerated rapidly and at the last moment swerved into the exit lane, causing no less than 4 cars to break rapidly to prevent a collision. Now on I-635 northbound she then proceeded to tailgate anyone in front of her. Then nearing her next exit, I-70 westbound, she swerved into the left exit lane causing the SUV behind her to veer out into the center lane. However, there was still at least ½ mile until the exit and she was now stuck behind a slow exiting car and next to SUV she just cutoff. The SUV proceeded at normal highway speeds until it had overtaken the slower exiting car with plenty of room and re-entered the exit lane. The three exited onto I-70 westbound. There the SUV and car merged into the center lane, and she again accelerated past the SUV then swerved in front of it and slammed her brakes. The SUV then braked suddenly to avoid a collision. She then changed to the outside lane and waited until the last possible second to veer onto the exit ramp at 57th Street.
This person does not deserve a driver’s license or a vehicle. Her actions put countless people in harms way just so she could get to her destination a few seconds earlier.
Movie Maker - novice extreme!
Yesterday and today I learned how to make DVD's from my DV Camcorder and assorted pictures. I also learned how to embed video to a webpage (i.e. http://www.joedix.com/maps) it is silly but still fun. I wonder if I should create a webtoon...
Concrete is poured...
After testing the pipes for leeks and what-not, I was ready mix (by hand) and pour the concrete, just think.. all that work to make a hole just to fill it up again. At least now I can start making some visible progress and not so much behind or should I say ... under the scenes.
A couple of days after this pic I finished all the water supply pipes.
Next stage. Design and build the floor and shower base.
Plumbing is in...
A week or so after the mass destruction of my basement floor, I was able to fit and set the piping.
So far so good.
Destruct-O Day
PM- It all seem to go reasonably well. This is that after shot.
I will add a backwater prevention vavle to the system.
Updates to follow.
Bicycling
Started riding on 8/8/05 to improve my health. Traveled 26.7 miles so far this month. Feels good when it is done hurting. I have enclosed a picture of my bike. I hope to post my progress soon to my website.
Update
... Family - good Katy is getting ready for the 5th grade and is pretty exicted.
Emily is growing up wonderfully, she is so cute!
Jenn has conquered any extra preggo pounds that attacked her.
I am about the same, no luck on any weight loss - yet. ( I got another plan.)
Also thinking about joining the YMCA w/ the family.
... Work - It is going well, although we are not as busy as I would hope.
... Religon - Jen and Katy are looking to be baptized.
... Man it has been hot outside!
Started a new group site on yahoo where my family, all of them, can keep track of each other.
Been a while... here's an update!
Sorry it has been so long.... Updates...
...
Family: Emily is doing super, she is almost 13 months old. Walks and plays jokes, you can see her 1st Birthday pic at http://joedix.com/emily. Katy is doing good too, she loves the addition, and anything Katy does, Emily just cracks up about.
...
Work, Just after Emily's birth (2 days in fact) Kerry Sweet Ingredients fired me for not being at work (at the time of Emily's birth). So begins the task of looking for work. Update, In mid March 2004, I was hired by Geeks on Call (super deal), and now it has been a year and all is going well.
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Personal, It is hard to find quality time when you have a newborn...
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Religon, Back to church and it feels good.
She is home....
Baby Emily arrived at home from the hospital today, just past noon. Oh, so beautiful.
- Proud Papa Joe
She is so beatiful...
The most beautiful baby I had ever seen. Truely a gift from heaven. See for yourself Emily's Site
-Joe
She has arrived....
Baby Emily arrived today amid the cheers of her adoring fans....
Details:Feb 17, 2004 @ 12:17pm
7 lbs, 5 oz. 22 inches long. Bright eyed girl.
Her website is JoeDix.com/Emily/
-Joe
No baby... YET.
Well today was the due date, doc says she is doing fine. Keep tabs on what is going on and we will plan to induce maybe Monday evening (Feb 16, 2004).
My finger is doing better, Yeah for pain meds.-joe
Ouch!!
Well today, I managed to break a finger (middle finger on my left hand), I will try to get a pic of it. Anyway, I was cutting some 3" by 2.75" by .5" plastic on a table saw at work, and a piece of the plastic caught the far end of the blade, and rode it to the front where it bounced off the table and smacked into the end of my finger, it glanced off and continued across the room. The impact was excruciating, it split my finger nail, thus ripping apart the nail bed, (this caused uncontrolled bleeding) matching the nail split was a break in the fingers bone. It looked as if the bone had been shoved back a millimeter or so (via the X-Rays), but man did it hurt. To control the bleeding, the Doc, drilled two holes into my finger nail and stitched from the nail to the end of the finger and back across the nail split in order to hold the split together so the bleeding would stop. This proved to be an incredably painful solution but it did work. Doc says bone will heal in 8 - 10 weeks. The Acetaminophen 3 with Codine only takes the edge off, I still have lots of pain. -joe
Super Bowl Sunday... XXXVIII
Today is "the big game" seems that it is over-hyped, making the local news is a storm that is supposed to drop 10 inches of snow and / or ice on Kansas City, but now that has appeared to drop to 2-4 inches as the storms center has pushed further West dumping it's load in central Kansas on it's way to Chicago. mmm, Lunch time... I want BLT and Tomato soup... later. -joe
Any day now...
Well wifey is really pregnant, and although she is due between Feb. 5 and Feb. 10 doc will allow her to go as far as Feb. 17. She appears ready, but there are some more things to do around the house. However, motivation is lacking on my part. So we will see what happens.
Today also had seen visits from my father Joe, and her parents Rick and Kathy, Papa Joe was still feeling under the weather so he did not stay too long. Rick and Kathy stayed, we ordered pizza (GodFathers, OH YEAH!) and played Cranium, a game my dear sister, Jennifer, and her husband ,Ryan,got us for Christmas, we love it, and all of us had a good time (except that wifey and Kathy won BOTH games).
I will probably watch some or all of the Super Bowl XXXVIII but I don't really care who wins. -joe
New Career?
Well today concluded with an interview, and continuing background check. The interview lasted 2.5 hrs, I would have to say it went well. I am excited and pray that everything turns out not only the way I want them too, but how GOD wills them too. -joe
Wow, what a week.
It has been a very busy week, and I have begun my weight loss program. "They" say I i sould lose nearly 105 lbs. Me I would be happy with 50, but my personal goal weight is 200. I do have broad muscular shoulders. So we will see what happens. BTW, I am participating in the Discovery Health Challenge, which is a 12 week program to teach ourselfs to eat better, excersice and focus on loosing the weight instead of the "Diet". Mine is more less food more often. I eat 5 meals a day consisting of smaller portions with focus on less fat and carbs only when I require them. So far I feel better and am less hungry during the day. So my stats are here, I weighed about 280 lbs. But today at the gym I weighed in at 272, good news. I worked out primarily cardio, then to some specific muscle groups. I feel great, with plenty of energy, and of course a positive outlook helps. I will update my progress when I can.
On the career front, I am having a background check for a job I do not want to talk about yet. All in due time.
On the home front, Wifey is doing good. She can go in to labor any day at any moment. The excitement is building.
Enough for now. -joe
A busy day.
Today, I worked on my own house, more painting, fixtures, etc. I also installed some tile in my neighbors house, man am I nice. Busy day. -joe
Productive Day
My sister ( one of many) is trying to buy a house, well the house is nice but before the bank will finance it some problems needed to be fixed. So I spent the better part of my day to accomplish these minor but numerous feats. And I can say, all went well. I am happy with my work and pray that they get the house (it is only a couple of blocks from my home. Meanwhile on the home front so other family came over to my house and clean the hell out of it. I can't remember when EVERYTHING was clean at the same time. Yeah!! Truely a good and productive day. -Joe
A disappointing day...
Today was an all-around bad day. I got a written warning at work for messing up. I was told that I could not have the 2 weeks off for paternity that I requested, but will have to settle for 2 days. The weather outside was gray and rainy, not just any rain, but that cold rain the makes your bones shiver, brrr. I ended up burning my fingersat work several times, OUCH! But in the end, I am still alive, maybe a little stronger and wiser. I really want to go back to school this fall. All things come to those who wait... I hate wait. -Joe.
Our Final Birthing Class / Is School in my Future?
Tonight was the final of 7 birthing classes aka Lamaze so now we are as ready as we can be for the big event. I know I am ready at have everything done, literally, kids off to college and myself retired to a warm climate near a couple of golf courses, of course that may be 25 - 30 yrs down the road.
I am thinking of going back to school, maybe I want to be a Policeman, or a Firefighter/EMT, or a school Teacher, then maybe just a desk job. Who knows, it definitely appears that I don't. Well, we will see what happens. -joe
Nice quiet evening...
This evening we simply ate some Wendy's at home and watched Bruce Almighty on DVD, a very funny movie that I highly recommend. It was a nice quiet (except for the laughter) and relaxing evening. Remember to take some quiet time, even if it isn't so personal. -joe
Baby Update & Computer Install
Wifey is now 36 weeks and on weekly visits to the Doc. Progress is good, doc says baby is in correct position and that labor may start at anytime. Now, I am feeling nervous. I just pray that I can be the father I always pictured myself being.
Well this past evening went well, I installed a new machine for my sister, needless to say she was excited and everything went without a hitch, except I left my CD's at there place. -joe (nail biting expected father)
Breast Feeding Class
Well, to say the least I have never heard the word "Breast" used so much in such a short amount of time. However, I will say that it was nice not to have people in the back giggling every time it was said. Overall, I will give the class a C+. It was helpful but not life changing. I still don't feel pressured or anticipation in waiting for our new arrival. I guess I just want everything to work out. -1212
My Intro...
I'm Joe, (aka 1212) aged 28 yrs, ...mmmm... just about right. I just want to say hi. I am a Kansas City KS native, I will soon be a father. I AM looking forward to the new arrival. Some of my goals are straight forward and others are... well... confusing. I want to loose some weight but I don't want to diet or give up my lust and consumption of chocolate. Anyblog, this is my first attempt at a blog, so we will see how it goes. I hope to talk about Computer ( both hardware and software), games ( both electronic and standard), as well as a plethora of other subjects that I may have a lot or maybe not lot of knowledge concerning. -joe (1212 from now on.)
