Worn down to a kind of calm

... is my mood at present. The compiled database application still doesn't run, I still can't format the C: drive, I still can't find a way to get the Windows XP Installer to use any hard disk other than D: (the drive that the computer booted from), and I still can't find any useful advice or tips on dealing with these problems. Even Google crapped out on the mysterious Error -199.

[Updated: I still can't format C: but at least I found a very helpful step-by-step guide to installing WinXP in "interactive mode" which does actually allow me to choose which disk I want it installed on.]

Of course, obviously, this is the last possible weekend to prepare the Hobbyist CDs for production to have them in the shops on March 1st. Well, whose fault is that? I've been procrastinating about this for weeks. It would still have gone wrong had I tried a fortnight ago, but I might have had a chance at solving the problems.

In closely related news I am getting pretty tired of all the whining and complaining around here. My negativism begins to bore me, and I'm sure that it palls on you too. My apologies. It's time for a change of tune.

In unrelated news I just stepped onto the balcony to blow the dustbunnies out of the carcase of the PC (I'd opened it up to check whether the second drive was mounted as a slave, which might have been the reason for the non-formatting), and noticed that the temperature has reached (dropped down to) the freezing point. We may be in for another few weeks of winter.

Something about being outside reminded me of the plastic bag scene from American Beauty (if you've seen the film, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to) and so I looked it up on YouTube. It's much shorter than I remembered, unless this clip has been edited; in my memory the bag flies around for several wonderful minutes. The song in the background is "Any other name" by Thomas Newman, and it's now on my iPod. Enjoy.



And just by the way, I was listening to the soundtrack and thought "this sounds sorta like Six feet under," so I looked that up on IMDB too. Guess who wrote (some of) the theme music to 6FU? Thomas Newman. Small world, eh?