BryanMace.com

For 2 years I’ve been trying to figure out why my XP SP3 system would suddenly freeze up.  As soon as it froze, the CPU usage would start accelerating and the CPU temperature would start to rise even though no programs were running.

Most of the online advice suggested re-installing XP and loading new drivers, programs, etc.  At best this would be a monumental pain and would likely cost me some lost programs and previous work.  I’m glad I waited.

The problem turned out to be something simple that I’ll bet has happened to a ton of unsuspecting people.

About 2 years ago I bought an MP3 player.  I’d plug it into a USB port and that would enable me to load it, organize songs and it also recharged the unit.

Whenever it needed a charge I’d plug it in for a few hours. Whenever I wanted to use it, I’d unplug it and go do my thing.

What I didn’t do was recognize the “safely remove hardware” icon in my system tray and I didn’t click on it and stop the MP3 player before removing it.

The icon looks like this:  You may have seen it.

It turns out that my system hang was caused by not using the “safely remove hardware” button correctly.

Whenever you plug a device into a USB port, the “safely remove hardware” button is activated.  Whenever you’re finally ready to unplug the device, you’re supposed to click on the ”safely remove hardware” icon and tell XP which device you want to unplug. That will deactivate it.

If you don’t,  XP keeps hunting for the missing device and it will eventually lapse into some kind of a loop that locks up.

In the end, all I had to do to fix my system was simply plug my MP3 player into my computer to activate the “safely remove hardware” button.  Once it came up,  I clicked on the icon , selected the USB port I wanted to close (the one with my MP3 player in it) and then waited a few seconds for it to tell me that it was “safe to remove hardware.”

Then, I unplugged my MP3 player.

Since doing this correctly, my computer hasn’t locked up for weeks (I just discovered this recently).  It used to go down about every 30-45 minutes and required a restart every time.  Now it runs like a charm and with no re-installation!

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.  I was ready to buy a new computer and start all over but can now enjoy a smooth-running machine that is already set up with everything I need.

Yippee!

Much has happened since my last post - all good.   I’ve been busily learning more advanced web skills and have been building new sites.

This site has received a makeover (for those that remember the first two versions) and I’ve incorporated some pretty tricked-out code and graphics.  Me likey.

I’ve also put up a nice site for one of my bandmates who owns an auto repair and restoration business.   It came out good and should generate good quality traffic.

It’s called Mustangs & More and is the perfect place to take your car if you’re sick of corporate suck-ass type people and businesses.   M & M has real people who actually care about you, your car and how well the job turns out.   Check them out if you get a quick second.  Take me to Mustangs & More!

Rarely has the world been improved so much by the absence of one man.

I’ve been working really hard the last few days to create a new website for my current band, Crash the Car.

I’m pleased to report that everything is up and running and to date, it’s some of the most sophisticated programming I’ve done.

I figured out how to code a horizontally scrolling photo show, how to implement animated background images, how to embed a string of YouTube videos into a scrolling frame and finally, I was able to create a “News” page that is built upon a Wordpress blog platform.

Check out the results at CrashTheCar.com

George Bush is the biggest war criminal of our generation and the time when he and his ultra-evil puppetmaster Cheney will be held accountable for their actions is drawing near.

It would have been even better if Idiot-boy Bush had actually been hit, but it’s still pretty good as is.

Now if we just knew somebody that had some wooden stakes or silver bullets to deal with Cheney…

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat.  A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the ‘Rowing Team Quality First Program,’ with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to ‘equal the competition’ and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles), so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year’s racing team was out-sourced to India.

Sadly, the End.

Here’s something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can’t make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US.  The last quarter’s results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses.

IF THIS WEREN’T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY

(Click on the YouTube logo to see the video)

(Click on the YouTube logo to see the video)

I haven’t heard a really great sounding record in years.  Loud records, yes.  Pleasant records, no.

It seems that the entire recording community has decided to compress and limit the hell out of everything.  Dynamic range has been reduced to the point that everything is louder than everything else.  It’s like trying to hear someone tell a great story while ten other people are yelling their version of the tale at the same time.

To better visualize the problem, imagine this: jumping up and down on a bed when you were a kid.  As a small child, you could bounce as high as the mattress could project you.  Sometimes, you might even be able to touch the ceiling.  On those really big bounces you could feel the energy and power.  A really great bounce was exhilarating.

That distance from the bed to the ceiling is literally analogous to what is known in the recording industry as “headroom.”  Now imagine what would happen to those great jumps if the bed was a little higher.  You wouldn’t be able to jump quite as high before hitting the ceiling and the exhilaration would be proportionately lessened.

Now imagine what would happen if the bed was even higher yet; so high that you could literally reach up and touch the ceiling without even having to jump. How exciting would that be?

That’s what’s been happening to modern recordings.  The average volume level of a modern recording has become so high that there’s no room left for those soaring leaps that were so exciting. 

Likewise, all of the subtle and interesting detail that used to lurk in the background of recordings is no longer there (go pull up an old Beatles record if you’re unsure what I’m talking about).  Indeed, there is no background at all; everything is pushed to the front, loud and proud.

The result is some of the most boring, uninteresting music ever.  What’s worse is that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Mark my words, we’ll look back at records produced in the last 20 years and wonder “What were we thinking?”

This is some vintage footage of Ma and Pa Kettle demonstrating their brand of mathematics to a well-intended businessman.  It’s eerily reminiscent of the current financial situation.

I’ve been wanting to freshen up the original BryanMace.com website for months and have finally found the time to do it.

I really like this new, clean layout and am especially proud of its completely fluid design.  No matter what kind of device you use to view the site, no matter what size monitor and no matter what screen resolution you use, this design will make the most of it.

Now, if I could only figure out how to convert this Wordpress code to a fluid design…