Downtown Memphis Blog

So yeah, finally all done with computer upgrade stuff. I updated my 3-4 year old BIOS to the newest version (From A02 to A06), formatted my hard drive, and replaced the original XP Home install with an XP Pro install stripped of about 200MB of bloat via nLite. Runs MUCH faster now. I also installed the new SP3, which just went public yesterday. It seems to boot faster, but then again, could be all the other stuff I did. I partitioned the drive from a single 40GB to 3 12GB partitions and a 4GB backup partition (all my files are on a 320GB secondary). I’m about to install Ubuntu Linux on one partition and maybe OS X on another, just for nerd factor of being able to boot three OS’s.

If anyone downtown knows of a place to get a freakin’ hair cut, let me know. I don’t really want to spend $50 at Gould’s or something, but I don’t want a $7 SuperCuts haircut either. $20-30 for a haircut seems ok with me. I tried to go to a place on front at the Falls Building, but it’s actually in an alley beside the building, and when I walked by at like 2pm a Wednesday, the blinds were all drawn and the door was locked. It can’t be that goddamn hard to find a hair stylist in downtown Memphis…

So, I’ve been kinda MIA because I made the mistake of deciding to update my old desktop with a fresh XP install. I wrestled with BIOS versions, USB keyboard issues, and a million other things, but I finally got it updated with the latest BIOS and a version of XP Pro SP3 stripped down with nLite.
SP3 seems to boot a lot faster, but that could be because my XP install was ~3.5 years old, the format likely helped a lot too. I’m about to install Ubuntu as well, I already have on my laptop and it seems ok, a little complicated for simple shit, but very customizable, so I’ll give it a shot.

In local news, pay attention to West Memphis 3 news, it’s about to start developing.

XP Pro SP3, I’ll post more and update for the last few days when I get the basics set up…

Not much posting activity lately because I’m trying to salvage my old Dell desktop, do a fresh XP install, and add a partition to dual boot linux. I’ll update with pretty screenshots and hows to’s and links too cool stuff soon. Either that or I’ll update with pictures of my computer with 20 rounds of 9mm hollowpoint in it. Either way, it will be entertaining.

I’ve spent the last day and a half wondering why my Microsoft USB keyboard wouldn’t work properly in BIOS. Yes, legacy support was enabled. It would work to enter bios, then it would work for one more keypress, then it would no longer respond to anything. The final solution: remove microsoft’s driver’s and just use the base HID drivers. Works perfectly now.

Overall I’m pretty happy, setup was simple, and everything actually freakin’ worked, right out of the box, unlike every single Comcast cable install I’ve ever had to endure.

I didn’t like they fact they try to force you to use their email client, and warn that not using may cause you to not be able to access the internet. I just cancelled the install at that point because I saw the network connection was working.

Speed is decent, it’s not as fast as an ethernet wired cable connection, but it’s faster than most wifi connections, regardless of ISP.

As far as price, she quoted me $32.99 on the phone, I’ll let you know when I get the first bill in a month or so.

Radar for 38103 as of 1:25pm, May 2, 2008. I hope all the tourists like mud.

Amazon has a sale on refurbed ice cream makers, $20 + shipping for a $99 machine. I might have to check it out, I need an excuse to eat ice cream.

I finally got around to trying Flying Fish last night after living within blocks for the entire year or so it’s been open. Since I’ve never eaten there, I decided to just go with their “specialty” and got the fried catfish fillet dinner with fries and hush puppies. I called in my order, walked down there, and it was ready. The catfish was about as good as fried catfish gets. It was surprisingly free of grease (as far as deep fried bottom feeders go). The fries were good, and didn’t have the fishy taste that everything in some fish places get. I wasn’t a big fan of the hush puppies, they were almost sweet, really strange. I’ll definitely eat there again, I’ll just sub something for the hush puppies. I was starving, and didn’t notice that my camera battery was completely dead until i got home with the food, and I sure as fuck wasn’t waiting. I’ll edit this post with a picture next time I get food there. In the meantime, here’s a stock image from their website.