Wednesday, February 5, 2014

WLEM AM

Where resistance is futile.


M.C. Escher had some interesting drawings reminiscent of Egypt. I have always assumed the mysterious bird in this drawing depicts the animal form of Horus, the god of vengeance, sky, and protection:


63 comments:

KCFleming said...

Did Susanna Hoffs invent the looking-to-the-side thing?
Because it kills.

Escher was an early favorite of mine, a mixture of math and fantasy and art.

Paco Wové said...

Loved Escher when I was younger. Mostly introduced via Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, a book I found utterly fascinating in my teens and twenties.

Not to derail the thread or anything, but I've been spending most of my time with my pinky in the air drinking out of little china teacups over at The Other Place, so I don't know what happened to Crack to drive him to madness. Is there a Twitter-sized version of events?

Dad Bones said...

Watching the Bangles is like eating potato chips. After the first video I wanted a couple more.

virgil xenophon said...

The Bangles? Their treatment of "The Hazy Shade of Winter" was always my Bangles fave...

M.C. Escher? In today's "multicultural" America we ALL live in an M.C. Escher world now..

AllenS said...

OK, all you smartypants. I'm having trouble with free disc space. In fact, I'm unable to view any of your videos because of the Flashplayer issue. I can't update it because I don't have any free disc space to do it. I've completed the disc free space cleanup, deleted all the temporary files, and tried everything else that I could find.

I'm thinking about buying an external hard drive. Can I do this? Will this help? Any ideas about which one?

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I'm glad they didn't cast Susanna Hoffs to play Rachel Menken because that would have been too much of a good thing.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Aleve and movies.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

disc free space cleanup

You mean a defrag? If not then try it. Can't hurt.

If so then never mind.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

@AllenS

I've have a Hitachi for about 4 years now.

remember to use our Amazon portal.

AllenS said...

I can't do a defrag because there isn't enough free disc space. I already tried.

I will use the portal, Lem, but what do you mean, Hitachi? Is that an external hard drive? Or a different computer?

KCFleming said...

I would move all long-term storage to an external hard drive.

I have had long life from my Toshiba drive, whereas my Western Digital died without warning after 3 years.

Defrag, also.

Uninstall programs you don't or rarely use.

Check PC RAM use by opening Windows Task Manager. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and click Performance tab. If the figure next to 'Available' under 'Physical Memory' hovers around zero, you need more RAM.

KCFleming said...

In order to allow defrag, try to increase the virtual memory:

(From Microsoft page)
Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, and then click Properties.
Click the Performance tab.
Click Virtual Memory, and then click Let me specify my own virtual memory settings.
Click the hard disk that you want to use for virtual memory, and then select the minimum and maximum amounts of virtual memory.
Click OK, click OK, and then restart your computer.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

@AllenS

Sorry I had that wrong. I have a Toshiba external drive.

KCFleming said...

Toshiba and Hitachi are external hard drives that allow you to transfer pictures and videos etc. from your PC to the external drive, then delete from the PC.

AllenS said...

After I lick the Performance tab, there is no Virtual Memory tab. It does say that I have no free space to defrag.

AllenS said...

Is that all you can do if you have an external hard drive, is put pictures and videos (I have none) on it?

I have a lot of pictures, but I wouldn't consider the amount to be any more than what most people might have.

KCFleming said...

Try this process:

(From Microsoft)
Open System by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.

In the left pane, click Advanced system settings.

On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.

Click the Advanced tab, and then, under Virtual memory, click Change.

Clear the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box.

Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.

Click Custom size, type a new size in megabytes in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box, click Set, and then click OK.

KCFleming said...

Windows operating system hides things in different places!

KCFleming said...

How much memory on your computer total?

AllenS said...

In Windows Task Manager under Performance I have:

Total 1039852
Available 302028
System Cache 455240

AllenS said...

2.59 GHz, 0.99BG of RAM

From My Computer, Properties

AllenS said...

0.99GB not BG

KCFleming said...

I assume you emptied the Recycle Bin.

Click on Start and then Run.

In the text box in the Run window, type %Temp% and click OK. A folder full of files and other folders will appear.

All of the folders and files you see in this Temp folder are no longer being used by Windows and can safely be deleted.

To remove individual folders or files, hold down your Ctrl key while left-clicking on each item you want delete. Release the Ctrl key when you're finished.

To delete, hit your Delete key or choose File and then Delete from the menu.

Confirm delete by clicking Yes on the Confirm Multiple File Delete window that opens.

If you'd like to remove everything inside the Temp folder, choose Edit and then Select All from the menu.

Note: If prompted that there are hidden files in this folder, just click on OK to bypass the message. A few hidden files hanging out in the Temp folder probably aren't important enough to worry about.

With all of the files and folders selected, hit Delete or choose File and then Delete from the menu.

Confirm you want to delete the files by clicking Yes on the Confirm Multiple File Delete window that opens.

After all of the files have been deleted, close the window and empty your Recycle Bin, permanently removing the files from PC.

You may get an Error Deleting File or Folder message while the files are being deleted. This means that one of the files is in use by a program right now. Click OK, close all open programs, and repeat the steps above. If you still receive the message, try restarting your PC and repeating the process again.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

We should also probably have more text post.

I'm just saying ;)

KCFleming said...

See program: http://windirstat.info/

It can show you where you are using large files and folders, given the lack of photos and video.

XRay said...

You might try this:

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Just leave all the settings at default and when you clean the registery choose the option to save in case of an issue.

Though it sounds as if you need more RAM.

KCFleming said...

I agree, increased RAM seems wise. A local PC shop can do that pretty easily, though I have done it myself following a youtube guide.

AllenS said...

I bought and ran the piriform.com/cleaner and was able to load the Flashplayer thing, but checking my C disc pie chart, I still don't have a lot of free space. More, but it's a thin slice.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

In lieu of an external hard drive, you might also consider a re-furbished computer.

It would be about 2x the cost of an external hard drive.

AllenS said...

How would I transfer my info to a re-furbished computer?

A man has to know his limitations.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Transfer files and settings from another computer

The steps differ a little from each Operating System. (Windows Vista, Windows 7 and so on)

But they are fairly simple to follow.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

You can Google the YouTube step by step video at your local library.

They should have a computer lab.

Michael Haz said...

After I lick the Performance tab

I think I see the problem.

Michael Haz said...

@AllenS: Here are the sets I took to fix the same problem you have.

1. Put computer in carrying case and then into car.

2. Drive care with computer in it to a place the sells and repairs computers.

3. Clearly declare "Fix my stuff, por favor, and if it cannot be fixed, then either install a newer and bigger hard drive, transferring all files form the old hard drive, or sell me a new rig.

KCFleming said...

Yes, that also works, Haz!

Except for licking the performance tab.

AllenS said...

Yeah, I could load it up and bring it in, but I was looking for an easy fix.

I had to bring it in maybe summer before last, and wasn't satisfied with the results.

The people who fix computers are aware that they have you by the short hairs.

AllenS said...

1. Put computer in carrying case and then into car.

2. Drive care with computer


See, it's not so easy to type.

Michael Haz said...

D'oh!

XRay said...

Sorry, didn't mean for you to buy 'ccleaner' as the free version works just fine. Though I too paid for mine after many years of using their product, felt it was the least I could do. I use it every couple of weeks to keep things cleaned up, especially when the browser starts acting wonky.

They also have a free defrag program, might be worth a shot trying it to see if it can do what Windows won't.

deborah said...

Allen, what browser do you use? If Internet Explorer, what version?

AllenS said...

Internet Explorer 8.

deborah said...

Paco:
"Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid"

Thanks for the recommendation. Might be to technical for me, but I have it bookmarked at Amazon.

Pogo, what I like about the vid is that three girls each sing one verse, but they save her for last..looks and voice-wise she's the real deal.

deborah said...

Virgil, yes, that is one of the best covers in the history of covers :)

Allen, I ask because I had trouble with my pc for a long time. I couldn't get it to follow links (I would have to copy and paste any links I wanted to follow). It would not let me use drop down boxes if I wanted to choose a size or color for ordering a piece of clohting. I thought the computer had a serious virus. Turns out windows 7 that I had no longer supported these tasks on my computer. And my computer will not support windows 8 (at least that's what the pop up message told me.)

Quite apart from that, I switched to chrome browser, and now I can do those tasks. This probably has nothing to do with your problem, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

deborah said...

People like Escher, who create such a unique world or vision, cause me to wonder what the world would be like if they never existed. 'Course, I think the same thing about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House series and Beverly Cleary and her Henry Huggins series.

Michael Haz said...

@AllenS _ IE 11 is the current version. Maybe it's time for an update.

If you use Firefox as a browser, it automagically updates whenever it feels the need.

AllenS said...

I've tried to update from IE8, but my computer won't accept anything newer.

ampersand said...
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ampersand said...
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Michael Haz said...

AllenS - it's probably time for a new one. The current software requires newer hardware.

AllenS said...

amp,

used 17.8 GB
free 832 MB

AllenS said...

Hard drive 20GB

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael Haz said...

Never tell a man his HD is very small. Never. Especially a veteran.

AllenS said...

Yes, it's a small HD, but I don't have a lot of extra stuff. Not that many pictures, few music cds, not many things in My Documents. For whatever reason, there isn't much free disc space left, and I don't know how to get more. I want to thank everyone for the help, but I can't free up any more space.

Yes, I'll probably have to get another computer.

I bought this one used.

AllenS said...

Is that a large hard drive in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me.

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AllenS said...

amp,

I've been told that, but I have very few documents to move. I doubt if any of them take up much space.

Michael Haz said...

AllenS _ With only a 10MB hard drive, most of the space is being taken by software. Hence the small storage space.

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AllenS said...

I have some pictures in My Documents that are:

143 KB (146,933 bytes)
123 KB (126,508 bytes)

16 pictures in all

I have 4 music files of 224 MB (234,967,704 bytes)

I have an Avery Templates of 108 KB (110,926 bytes) which is 10 pages of 30 names each and address for label purposes.

Is that a lot?

ampersand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Methadras said...

The Bangels. Such hot girls. Hoffs was the shit.

Methadras said...

Allen,

Buy a bigger drive and then go to google and search for drive imaging software that is free. There are a few out there. Download free software to do a direct image of your old drive to your new bigger drive. Once that's done, then unplug your older drive and reboot. Windows (if that is what you are running) will see the new drive as if it was your original drive and everything that will be on it. Do not do a backup, but rather a disk image. That is basically a direct image of your old drive, bit by bit, to your new drive.