Okay, I've gotten a number of minor issues taken care of concerning the wonderful world of Vista learning. But would someone please help me with something that should be relatively simple?? Pretty please?
I have a 22 inch flat screen monitor. The optimum resolution, according to Dell, is 1680 x 1050. Yeah, right! Oh, it's beautiful! The text is so clear and the quality is great, but........it's made for teeny tiny people with teeny tiny eyes!! I would be blind in two weeks tops....not something I'm particularly looking forward to since I rather enjoy having sight.
I've checked around a lot of places, and it appears that people using Vista have two main resolutions: 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024. The latter one makes for small print, and also leaves about 2.5 inches of blank space on each side of the web page. What's the point of having a nice big monitor if it doesn't use it well? Lol. And the former leaves everything at a nice size (no eye strain), with about 1 inch remaining on each side of the web page. But the photos and the text are not SHARP and clear.
I have tried every resolution for a 22 inch monitor with 32-bit color, and the 1024 x 768 seems to be the best. But why isn't it sharp and clear? Boo hoo. The photos are a little on the grainy side, and the text is a little on the pale, fuzzy side.
What resolution do you use? And what other settings do you use for the colors, etc? I've been trying, but I just can't get my mind wrapped around it.
Thank you, guys. Sorry for bothering you so much. I know I'm a pain.
Show us something happy.
Submitted by L33tchica.
This would make me very happy. I've ridden horses many times, but I've never been in the water with them....let alone having the horse swimming beneath me. I would have to say that this definately qualifies as a happy photo for the VOX Hunt.
"Quel est votre péché mignon, votre récompense suprême?"
Une glace au praliné arrosée de whisky , et le top du top avec de la chantilly et des noisettes et des amandes . Rien que dis penser ça me fait rêver !!
La photo lors d'une prochaine gratification de moi ou d'un dessert lors d'une discussion engageante si elle arrive ..
The cat from france likes to sing and dance
but my cat likes to hide in boxes
Now that was a good book. If you have a small kid - thats the book to have.
I was thinking about that book because I was thinking about Lloyd making his way around France and it popped into my head.
So I can give you a bit of an idea what Lloyd has been up to this week as he left me a copy of a very detailed itinerary, which includes sentences such as - attempt to catch bus from Boston. Worry about that later.
For now lets see what has happened in the past seven days.
A visit to world war 1 battlefields in France.
The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame.
Paris Caberet - with a question mark - so maybe not
Beaujolais vineyards - couple of days
Avignon - city of popes - which is a bit funny considering just about all the popes of the world are in Sydney at the moment.
Monaco
Monte Carlo casino - better check his bank balance
Then today it was to be either Cannes beach or shopping at Nice. Well he's not much of a shopper but he is with two girls and one very non beach type guy, so I can't pick that one.
I'm jealous.
Are we intrigued by the death of someone that we don't personally know. I think that we are. I know that I am both intrigued and deeply affected, sometimes for reasons that I cannot explain.
For example:
When Dale Earnhardt was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500 I was not a Nascar fan. This particularly redneck dude I was dating at the time called me up. "Are you watching this race?" "No!" I replied with disgusted dignity. He lived in a kind of bachelor pad/college dorm type house where several guys lived together. The other line beeped in continuously. All calls about Dale Earnhardt's untimely wreck and later to be discovered, death. That was Sunday. Early Monday morning I started reading about what had happened on the internet. I read article after article about this man who had died. Of course, living in Alabama I was aware of Nascar. I had even been to Talladega 3 times, but it was strictly to party in the infield and I was vaguely aware that a race was going on (definitely my loss because at that time, Big E was still on the track and I missed it all). The more I read, the more I was affected, it got into my blood and my heart and I'm still grieving the loss of a man that I knew nothing about when he was alive. I've missed very few races since then.
When my daughter was 1 year old, on the day after Thanksgiving my boyfriend and I took her to the mall to go shopping. Afterwards we drove home. No big deal right? After arriving home I received a phone call from my sister who wanted to make sure Hailey was OK. "Of course she is why?" I said. There had been a little girl shot and killed riding in a truck with her parents. She was in her car seat between her parents when her body suddenly went limp. It was determined that it was a stray bullet from a deer hunter in the area, the bullet had come through the back window and into her head. I soon learned that this family lived very close to us, that the little girl was within one month of Hailey's exact age, AND they had gone the same route that we had gone to the same mall and the parents had bought the little girl some cowboy boots (she was wearing them when she died). This totally freaked me out for a very long time.
I somehow happened upon a story online about a woman who was pregnant with twins. It was a rather late in life pregnancy with the woman's second husband. She already had two grown daughters from a previous marriage but she was healthy and her pregnancy was uneventful; however she died delivering the second baby. Out of curiosity I found this woman's myspace page and I found progressive photos of her growing belly, photos of the developing nursery and photos of the children she left behnd. It deeply affected me for some reason. I guess because this woman was so excited about the birth of these babies and, from what I read, she only got to see one of them before she lost consciousness. These kind of things really make you scratch your head and wonder "Why"?
I have also been affected by the death of certain other celebrities. When I heard that Heath Ledger had died, at first I didn't know exactly who it was but I soon found out. I had watched 10 Things I Hate About You many times and loved the movie. I loved him most of all. I immediately went out and bought the movie for Hailey to watch and I also bought Brokeback Mountain (although I have not watched it yet). I read and read about Heath, his life, his history, his daughter, his family. Such a beautiful, talented young man who had so much more life ahead. The debut of The Dark Knight has broken box-office records and from what I hear and read, a lot of that has to do with not only Heath's performance, but also the fact that he is no longer with us. It is a very sad and intriguing story and for some unknown reason, I am deeply effected. Heath Ledger was such an attractive young man and one of those who is so good-looking that I can hardly bear to look at photos where his eyes bore into me. Here are a few that I snagged from TMZ.
Note: These photos did not have a copyright or watermark on them and right-click was not disabled so, to me that means they are free for the taking. I'm just posting this because I know how sleazy TMZ can be and I want to make sure I'm covered. RIP Heath.
PS: My son went to see The Dark Knight last night and he said it was absolutely amazing and Heath's portrayal of The Joker was chilling and demented and downright astounding. Hailey and I may go see it tomorrow.
there is also a fine line betwwen ignorance and obidience, just remember that, i have been that person, please do not become it, listen more, speak less, he who does not know speaks, he who knows does not speak
I really miss last week. We had so much fun. Someone suggested a trip to Vegas next year, which I'm totally going if everyone else does. Sigh. Good times.
But, back to the nearest past, I've been relaxing. I'm srsly going to need to do something more productive. Having a real summer vacation is hard. I'm thinking of sketching up some things to sell at my unestablished etsy shop. But like a quote from The Dark Knight, if you've got a gift---why hold back? Or, something to that effect.
Anyway, I'm going to get something to drink.
Hi there - I'm up. Still Alive. The third codral of the day has something different in it that knocks you out. (And leaves you dehydrated) So I've been in bed for 12 hours. Amazing really. I'm always awake early. So it knocked me out at about 9pm. Now I feel kind of dirty and sluggish - I always feel like that when I stay in bed too long. All soft and yucky.
Before I went to sleep I was reading - P.S. I Love You, which I was finding extremely boring. Glad I didn't see the movie. Anyway these four girls went out and got so drunk that the next day they coudn't remember anything that had happened. So when I went to sleep I had this dream and I dreamt what happened to all of them. Like individual dreams for each of their nights. God, it was awful. The book is so boring I have to re write it in my dreams.
I think its because its Irish. I don't usually enjoy english/irish/scottish books. I find Scottish particularly hard to read. Thats because I read books with the accent used and scottish tend to leave me sounding like Billy Connelly after a few too many drinks.( Must say though Misery I do enjoy Maeve Binchy).
I also just finished a Dean Koontz one - The Good Guy. It was ok - gone off him a bit lately. Wasn't happy with the ending but I liked the characters. They all had a good sense of humour. You'll knock it over in a couple of sessions.
Now the library isn't open until tomorrow so I have to either keep on with P.S. or buy a new one. Which requires dressing and leaving the house. Hmmm. Shall go and peruse the weather before making that decision.
I haven't blogged much lately except about a couple of reality shows I'm following. I just haven't had much to blog about. Things have been slow as we inch closer and closer to the beginning of football. But today, I do have a few things to say:
- Today is the one year anniversary of my Father's untimely and sudden death. By the coroner's guess he passed away around 3:15am on Thursday, July 19th, 2007. He was found around 3:30 by my half-Brother. He was lying in the floor between the couch and the coffee table. Much to my chagrin, by request of my evil step-mother no autopsy was done. I would have liked to know for sure what killed my Father. A doctor's visit about 3 weeks prior to his death found nothing out of the ordinary. It has been surmised that it was a piece of plaque that traveled through his arteries and eventually reached either his heart or his brain. All of the experts agree he died suddenly, even before he hit the floor. His arms were not outstretched, as if to try and break his fall. They were by his sides and a small bruise on his nose most likely from striking the coffee table when he fell. I would still like to know. Because of my step-mother's selfish and emotional decision not to have an autopsy done, myself, my siblings and all of our children (and their children) will forever have this question mark in our medical history. I don't know what was listed as the cause of death because I have never even seen the death certificate. You see, my sister and I (from my Father's previous 20 year marriage to our Mother) have been completely and effectively SHUT OUT of all handlings of my Father's death and estate. Was there a will? We don't know. Nothing was ever filed with the probate office but according to a lady I spoke with there, it is not required by law to do so in the great state of Alabama. Was there any life insurance? Well, obviously there was but apparently none of it was ear-marked for my sister and I. My Father worked his entire life and was a very successful business man. He retired 9 years prior to his death. When he retired he gave both me and my sister $5000.00 but I do not believe that was to be our inheritance. At the time of his death he owned two homes. One on a local lake on one of the most sought after locations (which my step-mother quickly sold) and a 5 bedroom 4 bath home complete with swimming pool, barn and stabling for two horses. My step-mother, who never worked a day after they married 27 years prior, drove a BMW. Does this sound like a man who couldn't afford to leave something for his eldest children? I think not. To add insult to injury, my sister and I have not even been allowed to come to the house and see if there were any of his personal belongings that we might want. She never liked us, she never liked the idea of him having children from a previous marriage, she didn't want to have anything to do with anybody that was a part of his life prior to her own era. How selfish is that? She didn't even publish an obituary in the newspaper and had a 'rushed up' funeral 2 days after he died. She relied on an old friend of my Father's, a lady that worked for him from the beginning of his business in 1973, to call my Dad's friends. One particular friend told me that he and his wife were out of town and were barely able to get back in time for the funeral. Anyone from my Dad's 'pre-her' years that came to the funeral, learning of it through word of mouth in the small town that my Father was born, raised and buried in, were effectively ignored by my step-mother at the funeral. In the small chapel where his service was held, my sister and I were left to find our own seats. Nobody escorted us to the front pew where my step-mother and her son sat. We were barely acknowledged as his children by her. As you can tell, I'm quite troubled and bitter about this whole situation. I have been for quite a while. It's just the not knowing that causes me such trouble. If I could just know, from her, if he didn't leave us anything and why, it would provide a lot of closure for me. I know that my Father knew that she and their child together would survive him by a number of years. He was almost 50 years old when they married and had their son (he is the same age as my son, she at the age of 40 and I at the age of 17 were pregnant at the same time). I know that he had to plan for this and provide for them, but I just cannot make myself believe that this would be done by sacrificing anything left for his eldest children. Am I just being stupid? Or does all this sound as shady as I think it sounds? Just a few months after my Father passed away, my step-mother's own Father passed away. She got everything. At the funeral she divided the contents of my Father's pockets between us three children: my Brother got a pocket knife, my sister got his handkerchief and one quarter, I got the other two quarters. The sarcastic way she dropped them into my hand, as if to say, "This is all you're gonna get too" still haunts me. Although at the time, I had no idea that was the real reason she did it that way. Anyway, I love you Daddy and I miss you every day. It has been a tough year here without you. I still haven't graduated from college yet, but I've only got 2 classes left and I'm going to get that degree. Things are going very well for me at work except for the fact that I'm still not making the kind of money I need. Your eldest grandson is doing very well. He's working about 3 different jobs and dating a beautiful girl who belly dances in her spare time. Your beautiful granddaughter is about to begin her Senior year in high school. Gosh these years have flown by so fast! She will be a section leader in the band this year and she is going to Pasadena, CA to march in the Tournament of Roses parade. I know you would be so proud of her. I'm so sad that you never go to come to a football game to see the band perform while you were here. I invited you so many times but you never could work it out so you could come. I sent you an e-mail during Hailey's sophomore year inviting you again, to come to a game and I remember writing you a little stern reminder that "high school only lasts 4 years". I had no idea when I wrote that, that you would be gone from this earth before those 4 years were over. I love you Daddy.
- Whew! That took a bit out of me so I guess that's all for today. Don't ever take a minute for granted. I know that I took for granted the fact that my Father would always be around. I don't do that anymore. I talk to my Mother practically every day and spend time with her whenever I possibly can.
