Cursed

So I seem to be cursed with computers. I have a pretty old one, it's 8 years old, and it finally died on me after we recently replaced the hard drive, replaced the fan, repasted it, and cleaned it out very good. It was the motherboard, but at the ripe old age of 8, I think it was her time. After bitching to my husband for a few months about my plight (as I have two other computers but everyone else is always using them and if I attempt to change the status quo of what we have going, it ends up with everyone miserable for various reasons), he insisted I just replace the motherboard.

So I ordered one and had to replace it about a week ago. Except, even though I was pretty thorough in my research it had one problem... with Windows 7, a motherboard is tied to that registered Windows key. Since mine was a factory install that was bought right after Windows stopped shipping discs with computers; I didn't get a Windows install/fix disc. So I've been trying to find a work-around or solution. My computer is well out of warranty so Microsoft won't help me even if I asked (unless I want to hand them some more money, and if they still have support for my model).

I think I have figured out a solution to attempt in the next few days based on some of the articles and things I have read on my problem. I mean, a blue screen of death "BSOD" is really a bad sign even if your computer is not as old as mine. At the end of the day, if I "have" to, I'll try to move the most important things manually but my hard drive is just soooo large for my computer, it would be a huge pain in the butt. So we'll see. But something like this always happens about once a year to me and I'm beginning to think technology hates me (although I love it, as obviously I am still trying to perform CPR on such an old computer... she is well-loved.)

Another problem I'm having with technology is with Pokemon Go, as my phone plays the game great although it is literally a battery drain after just about an hour's worth of game time but my iPod (whose battery doesn't drain so fast) keeps throwing me the error "GPS Not Found" even though I have maximized my settings for my GPS connectivity. So if it even loads on my iPod, it won't allow me to catch Pokemon or my character and if I play on my phone, it kills it really quickly. I guess both are known problems and so close to launch I expected a few snags. I hope they figure out a solution to at least one problem so I can truly enjoy the game as it was meant to be played.

As far as rating Pokemon Go, they could have done a much better job at giving you a tutorial (which is nonexistent) and giving more Pokestops and Gyms (at least for my area, which is very suburban there is very little within walking distance.) I also foresee supplies in-game being a huge issue for users like me who only have about 5 poke-stops nearby and not in locations where you can really sit and farm for Pokeballs and other supplies you need. The only solution they have for that problem is to actually buy Pokecoins to use for supplies.

In my head I'm also seeing some problems thinking about the functionality of gyms, because you pick a "team" and when you battle a gym, you have to completely wipe out the other side which can be 3+ trainer's worth of Pokemon before you can even place one of yours there. You do get free stuff if your Pokemon manages to stay at the gym, but users who have a lot of free time and means to travel frequently to spots to farm and train and/or who spend money to maximize their Pokemon are going to have a huge advantage and eventually it may not be possible to dethrone a team. People are not going to want to compete with that especially if they can't travel frequently or spend money on a game like this.

So far the level-up system is also incredibly costly of your hard-earned rewards and compounded with all the problems I've already mentioned, I see this being a really hard thing to do. I haven't battled yet myself, but I've also heard that the battle-system is also a huge departure from previous Pokemon battles and is very confusing and cumbersome at times. I guess time will tell for sure if they are going to manage to fix all of these issues (or potential issues) or whether it's another game that gets off to a fantastic start but tapers off once users realize its major flaws and unfair disadvantages most people are going to have. I'd like to play it at least, so let's hope!

Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

So I've been meaning to start doing some book reviews for a while, just as a hobby for myself. With POTS, brain fog and memory troubles are common and I am definitely one who suffers from them (worse as the years go on). I keep track of the books I read and rate them, but often have trouble remembering exact details when a sequel comes out, or when I go to talk about it with a friend or as a recommendation. It's not even that I don't read well enough to remember the details - I do - in the long-term. I don't know all the science behind it, but I did take a university class on learning and memory and the basics say that some people remember details better long-term than short term. My brain has a hard time connecting the storage links between my long term memory and short term memory, so I may not be able to tell you what show was on 6 minutes ago, but in 6 months I'll recall what show it was, what scene it was, and what was said. It sounds odd and backwards - but that is just how POTS has affected my memory personally. In other words, doing some book reviews are meant to try and help jog my memory and keep it fresh while also giving other readers insight into books they may want to read! Double win.

So here goes.

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss

I want to start off by saying that I love fantasy and sci-fi; but there are certain sub-genres that really really just repel me for no particular reason. Many of them have covers that remind me of dime-store (I guess, dollar-store now) paperbacks that have fluff-filled pages that lonely women and men read because they themselves are as flat and fluff-filled as the books. Even if the subject of the book and the excerpts on the covers make me want to read it; a bad dime-store cover will make me put it back on the shelf. No kidding. So when my best friend told me about this book they were reading, it sounded interesting and I looked it up. The picture happened to be something that reminded me of a dime-store romance novel, and immediately I was put off. I hesitated buying it myself because again, instantly I was afraid of what could be behind the cover if that's what it looked like.

For my birthday my other best friend ended up buying it for me anyways, in paperback with the cover shown above. I started reading it a few days after my birthday last July because I needed somewhere to escape and I had nothing to lose by reading it then. I instantly fell in love with the book, and ate it up. In August I set it down after my husband had a heart attack with about 150 pages left out of 722. So close to the end, but other things took precedence and then I was just definitely not in a good place to be delving into anything. I picked it back up a few days ago, feeling ready to get excited and invested again.

Patrick Rothfuss has talent. Truly, he has a way with words. The writing style and flow is perfect; it has just enough detail that the reader has a fully-formed picture in their head but enough of it is left up to the reader to fill in the blanks that each reader definitely will have a different picture in their head. And that's important, isn't it? That each reader gets to fill in the blanks for themselves with just enough guideline that the picture of the story is unique for each reader? The story weaves and reads so easily and thoroughly that you are pausing to think on concepts and themes you almost didn't notice except as an afterthought; leaving you in a place of contemplation and reflection.

Rothfuss dives right into the life of Kote, a man now known as the innkeeper out in the middle of nowhere; with his assistant Bast. Something is very wrong about the picture though, and as a newcomer stops into his inn; it starts to unravel. Many stories have been told and re-told about the legendary man Kvothe, and Kote decides to set the record straight about who Kvothe really was and divulge the truth about each and every tale of Kvothe Kingkiller. Between the stories Kote tells of Kvothe's youth and the events occurring in the present at his inn, you get sucked not only into where the present events might lead but to the life story of a man-legend who somewhere along the line, got lost in the tales and myths of his own making.

I find myself still reeling about Kvothe and his love interest, Denna, and about how such a poor young man will make his way up to such a legend. I can easily picture all of the places of the story and walk through as if I've been there. Such a fully-formed world makes it so easy for you to wonder about what stories aren't being told; and wildly exasperate you on what solutions and events will arise around Kote and Bast. Most of all, I am not able to instantly jump and guess at the sequence of events that will occur next - as this is no re-told re-told fantasy tale of Prince Galahad or some snuffy kid pulling magic out of nowhere and becoming instantly important and three-dimensional and wise.

I do have to note as an after-thought that if you buy this book, I recommend buying it in Hardcover. I take excellent, excellent care of my books and this one is so large that the binding is crinkled and worn just from one read-through and the covers are frayed at the corners and scratched elsewhere for very literally, no particular reason. I love this book so much that I will definitely invest in a hardcover later, and will be buying all the the sequels in hardcover when I buy them on my dime. But for now, I will begin the continuation of Kvothe's tales in ebook form through my library.

Happy reading! 

Call the Midwife

I just finished watching the season premiere of Call the Midwife, a show about a young wealthy nurse-midwife in 1950's England, who heads over to a nunnery in East London and is face with conditions she has never seen before. As an American, we were put through the wringer in over-emphasis of Europe's terrible conditions in this time, compared to our terrible conditions. (Of course the textbooks tried to make it seem like we were less terrible, bah!) The Midwife, Jenny, encounters Syphilis, a premature birth, post-partum hemorrhaging emergency, conditions far beyond her scope of belief and overwhelming sadness for the women.  You can watch the season premiere on PBS, located here. The show will run every Sunday until November 4.

One of the women, the one who went into premature labor, Conchita, had 24 other children by her English husband besides the newborn. Jenny is astounded with their poor living conditions and does not see the love the family has for what it is. It is only in the end, after the baby survives against all odds (30 week premie was not usually viable in the 1950's, regardless of birthplace); that Jenny finally sees. "We must see what love can do." It is a wonderful sentiment. It finally makes her realize that she is not the martyr for the work she is doing, it is the women who are the heroines for all that they do.

Apart from being a nunnery, you can see the sisterhood in Midwifery...it is a part of womanhood; it is every one, it is everyone's job. It is so wonderful, and so comforting, and so...indescribable. It just reinforces my decision to become a CPM. I want to serve women and their families, I want to care for them as they birth their babies (unlike a doctor who "delivers" "it" "for them"), I want to see them through the darkness and into the beautiful kaleidoscope rollercoaster of life. I can't wait. Midwifery is not always beautiful, it is not always easy, it is not always profitable....but what it is always, is a journey. It will always be a journey of life, a pathway of nursing the goddesses who bring for life, nursing new life, and nursing passing life. I want to be a part of it.

One day, I will be proud to call myself a Midwife. I will serve life.

A Review of Sprout

For many Americans, Sprout is one of the most popular and widely-available toddler-preschool-acceptable channel on cable television. It breaks the day up into several smaller "shows" during the day where episodes are played. The Wiggly Waffle is hosted by The Wiggles, from 6-9 AM, followed by the live Sunny Side Up Show who has several  rotating hosts from 9 AM until 12 PM, then The 2-hour SuperSproutlet Show which was recently added and hosted by Bean and Sportacus (from LazyTown), followed by The 2-hour Super Sharing Show hosted by three puppets named Patty, Ricky, and Curtis E. Owl, and lastly; The Goodnight Show which plays from 6 PM - 6 AM in 3 hour loops hosted by Nina and two puppets, Star and Lucy.

The number of shows played on this channel on a daily basis are extremely wonderfully diverse with new shows added every few months. Some include the ever-popular Angelina Ballerina, Barney & Friends, The Berenstein Bears, Bob the Builder, Caillou, Chloe's Closet, Driver Dan's Story Train, Fifi and the Flowertots, Fireman Sam, Kipper, LazyTown, Nina's Little Fables, Pajanamals, Play With Me Sesame (Sesame Street spin-off), Poppy Cat, Sesame Street, Super WHY!, and The Wiggles. Many of these shows are Canadian, Australian, or English in origin, mostly Angelina Ballerina, Caillou, Chloe's Closet, Fireman Sam, Kipper, Poppy Cat, and The Wiggles. This past year they've added 2-3 new shows already or altered ones they already show. They've even announced new shows this year to be added to their schedule.

I enjoy this channel due to the animated characters - human and puppet alike. I enjoy this channel because my daughter enjoys these characters as well - they are charismatic and funny. She loves Chica, the new host Carly, and Nina and Star. She loves to sing in the morning with Chica and stretch with Nina at night. The shows are educational and have few downsides, unlike, for example "Max & Ruby" which is plays on Nick Jr. In "Max & Ruby," Max is 3 and Ruby is 7; and they live alone without supervision. I don't believe their parents have been shown in any of the five seasons. Ruby is often bossy and abusive to Max, ignoring him and constantly lecturing him over nothing. None of the shows played on Sprout have that kind of nonsense.

If I were to rate this channel, I would give it a four out of five stars, only because there is always room for improvement. I truly enjoy this channel and only allow M to watch a few other shows from other channels. This is the number one channel I recommend to other parents with young children.

~Rose



Disclaimer: I was not paid or asked to review this channel or any of the shows mention, I did not receive any gifts or items from the sponsors or producers of the channel or any of the shows. All opinions and thoughts are my own.