A bit more success taming Win10. Found another web article, this one on disabling Win10 ads, that for once is fairly up to date. (It includes details for the Apr 2017 Creators Update, despite being dated Sep 2016.) Implemented many of its suggestions. None caused unpleasant surprises...yet. Following advice elsewhere, I created a Registry Key to transform the Cortana question bar into a simple Windows Search bar. (Yes, I backed up the Registry first, just in case.) Wanted to select when I'd allow Win10 to automatically reboot itself following updates. Sadly, its control is grayed out for me. On a VERY simple note, I removed File Explorer from the Task Bar. Can't stand the thing. I pinned my beloved FreeCommander in its place. Explorer is still available via Start Menu those extremely few times I need it.

Speaking of FreeCommander, here's an image of it in action, configured as I like it.

As is obvious, I have it set to dual pains in horizontal mode. Each pain is subdivided so that the right-hand side shows the contents of whatever is highlighted on the left. (The lower pain is a portion of my BAIN Installers workproject directory.) Makes directory/file management a breeze. For those interested, here's the program's download page. For the version I prefer, do NOT DL the XE versions. Instead drop down and get the "Old Version" 2009.02b. Reason? I've never been able to configure XE to what you see in my image. Not saying it can't (or can) be done, just that I figure it out. In any case its file is "safe", I've DL'd and installed it a number of times over the years, as recently as a few days ago for my new Win10 install. It (2009.02b, not XE) has a few limitations as what can go in right-click menus. Only on rare occasions have a found that a hindrance, solved by launching File Explorer.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Apr 14 2017, 01:12 PM

Holy Crap, this is exactly why I don't like getting the new OS's when they come out! WTFH !!!!

Not much to report on the Win10 front. Got to feeling poorly (more so than usual) by mid-day yesterday so didn't do much additional tinkering. Got Minecraft up and running, though I doubt I'll ever play on that machine. Too slow, even without hi-res texture packs. Am trying out Adblocker Ultimate rather than my old standard Adblock Plus. (Too bad there's not an Adblock Plus for Win10 in its entirety rather than just Firefox and some other browsers.) So far they both seem to block the same amount of ads. Neither has one feature I'd appreciate, the ability to allow ads on selective individual YouTube channels I don't mind supporting. (ABPlus looks as if it can unblock individual videos (rather than channels), but my attempts using the "feature" didn't pan out.)

Project Clear-up-area-by-the-tent is finished!


Well, as finished as it can be for now. As with most things I can keep working on it forever but it's all done and ready to be used now. Just being able to park a vehicle out of the way there is nice, and if someone wants to donate an insulated workshop we now have a place to put it!

Khajiit is filling out forms for the Imperial tax collectors. Ugggh.

Which Imperial tax collectors would that be? I mean if you don't pay up do they send Legion soldiers after you or Stormtroopers?

Lol, Legion. They say "STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!!"

Looks like I'll be involved in a couple of projects for my brother.

The certain: My brother's Birth Certificate can't be found. He has some weird looking Hospital Certificate that doesn't count for official purposes. Since he doesn't have internet, and our birth state isn't where we now live, I'll be researching and ordering a new Certificate online. This will hopeful be easy. I'll do it some Sunday he's here visiting (so I can readily get any needed vital statistics). No great rush on this one, so far as I know.

A maybe: My brother complained that his AC wasn't adequately cooling his home unless he set its temp control to "0". This, he says, cools the house, but the fan is constantly on (though set to AUTO). I looked at it today on the way back from a medical appointment. As I pretty knew, the fan is almost certainly constantly on because the cooling unit itself is. Looking at the outside unit, I notice a good bit of white foam at the junction of the big black tube and the unit itself. Also, there is more wetness on the concrete pad beneath the unit than seems normal to me. Where I might come in is that, being a working man, my bro might not be available when the repairman is. I'll house-sit for him if that's the case. Somewhat complicating matters, I have medical commitments this week. If I'm indeed needed, the repairmen will need to contact me beforehand and work out a time I available to be there.

As to my secondary computer's new Win10 install, I've not monkeyed with it since before my bro's visit this past Sunday. One good thing, it looks like my modifications somewhat reduce internet activity, especially while the Win10 PC is "off". Still getting a bit more of it that I was before the OS "upgrade," or so it seems to me, but every little bit helps.

Read the results of my recent Chest CT online this morning. Pretty much same old same old except this: "There is a new 7mm groundglass focus in the superior segment right lower lobe, likely inflammatory/infectious." Later on it says, "New groundglass nodule superior segment right lower lobe likely acute infectious/inflammatory component. However, this can be reevaluated at short follow-up." During this afternoon's Pulmonary visit the doc said that at this time the new nodule is nothing to worry about, and that such things are expected to occur with my chronic condition. He further stated that while my affliction is obviously not a good thing I seem to be doing about as well as can be hoped for "under the circumstances." He's not overly concerned with my current state of chest/lung health unless some of my symptoms worsen.

I had to order a new birth certificate a few years ago. Like you, I live in a different state as well. But thankfully it was easy enough to do over the internet.

Hopefully your nodule will improve!

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 18 2017, 11:29 PM

I may have forgotten to mention that, while configuring Win10 on my secondary PC, I switched Firefox's default search engine on BOTH computers from Google to DuckDuckGo, which claims to not track users and protect search history even from themselves. Its lack of providing dates for result entries can be annoying for certain searches, but with snooping becoming more and more the norm I feel it's an acceptable trade-off. Besides, I can temporarily switch to Google when dated results are essential.


I found a site called VitalChek that should suffice for ordering birth certificates. The lady I spoke with at the local DL issuing office affirmed that it's a legit operation.

Sounds like you've been born again, SubRosa. How does it feel to be a youngster?

This post has been edited by mirocu: Apr 19 2017, 06:36 PM

Finally done ramrodding my brother's AC "repair". Leastwise I hope I am. In the end, it was much ado about nothing. Seems the AC thermostat mysteriously set itself to "0". (My brother swears he had nothing to do with it.) This caused the outside unit to overstress itself and eventually freeze up. Leaving the AC off several days eventually returned it to normal. So far as we can tell, no harm done other than an $83 repair bill.

No progress on my planned computer assembly, other than change case-of-choice from the Corsair r400 to a Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX full tower. It's not my ideal case...those are beyond my budget. It seems a very good case for the money, and is a bit more up-to-date feature wise than the Corsair.

Oh yeah. I'm doing more shredding of no-longer-needed documents for my bro.

Bloody 'ell! What have a gotten myself into?

While perusing *COUGH* ever-glorious *COUGH* Bethesda.net I noticed that our own Renee Gade has began a new thread dedicated to Oblivion character fact-sheets. Being for all intents and purposes new there (though I signed up early on) I decided to take the plunge. My original plan was to copy-and-paste a similar fact-sheet remember filling out elsewhere. I thought it was here. If so, I've yet to find it. Nor do I see such a thread in the now defunct old official forums. Admittedly, I don't have the heart to delve too deeply there.

That being the case, I pasted Renee's template into LibreOffice Writer and went to work. I intended to keep it as short and simply, with a few "corny" responses thrown in for good measure. Then I got to thinking how I have never divulged much of my avatar's pre-Crisis history. What little I have revealed was, for the most part, posted years ago, likely forgotten by all and sundry (of the zero who care).

I began padding my responses to include some of this info. To keep it simple, the darn thing has grown to over six letter-size pages of text. Its end is not yet in sight. Fortunately, the bulk of my text will NOT extend beyond my avatar's meeting with Uriel Septim VII on the eve of Crisis. Before too much longer I will enter those years he has largely remained silent about. What little I know consists of generalities and few details. Still, the final result as apt to be a monstrosity, considering my pathetic writing skills (or lack thereof).

Been working on it off and on all day. Hope to finish the first draft ere bedtime, at most some time tomorrow.

If I decide to post the entire debacle, I might not, prepare for boredom, or at best unintended hilarity. My avatar's pre-Crisis existence is NOT the stuff bards wet their harp strings over.

You have been warned.

Wow, Decrepit! I encourage you to linger with your avatar's background and do not constrain its volume.

Once you and he are satisfied, you might consider opening a thread in fan fiction for the sole purpose of sharing it. The secret there is serving up bite-sized installments (~1000-1500 words) and doing so no frequently than once a week until complete. That is the best way to avoid intimidating readers with too much/too fast when you have something lengthy to share.

Do not be concerned about any precepts of 'story' or conventions of fiction. Simply share it with your friends here. We will come. We will read. We will enjoy.

Khajiit agrees with Acadian, if you do it in installments it's like the old pulp fiction serials they used to sell at news stands = fun to read!


Meanwhile, in Khajiit's world...
This one is gearing up for another go at brewing hard apple cider. Khajiit received good XP from his last attempt so he's optimistic about his new attempt. Wish us luck!

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Apr 29 2017, 10:26 PM

I added a brief outline of Clark, and bold went missing on most lines, and the line breaks were bad, so I tried to edit it. Any corrections are being rejected as spam!

That editor really needs taking out behind the barn, and shooting - slowly.

I intended to add link to his story, but that may never happen.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Apr 29 2017, 10:33 PM

*wishes luck*



And I do hope Khajiits sends me a batch to sample...

Well if it's good this one might would send you some. Khajiit wonders what are the rules for sending something like that overseas.

After a day, it let me make some of the changes, but I'm not pushing my luck. I think the Akismet filter sees the almost-identical repost as an attempt to post the same thing repeatedly and treats it as spam. I linked to Clark's narrative on my own site, instead of here, as it has it without comments, making it easier for a first-time reader. I must make sure it's easy to find here from there.

It still boggles my mind how scrolling something off the visible area in the editor loses the formatting. So most of the lines still don't have the bold labels, to separate them from the associated text.

Decrepit, when you paste yours in, beware of hard line breaks in the source. Doing it from and rtf or doc file will probably be ok, as those don't have so many.