Well...

.
.
A new old computer, sitting in the corner gathering dust, was pulled out, set up... mostly, and set to fill the spot of the fallen machine.  I have done what I can to make it work.  It took a lot of fiddling, and I doubt it's security.  I know there needs to be a great deal of updating.  It was a machine I purchased for my last lover.  She had no use for it, tech isn't her thing, as it turns out.  The thing has sat, unused, for over a decade.  First with her for five years and more, than with me.  Well sealed, it wasn't even dusty.  Some things aren't updating, or well.  I suppose there should be some cycle of what has to be updated first, or...  Not fun, but not painful either.  Sort of like working on an old engine, of the tech variety.

I have set up provisional security.  It was a mess to even get to that point.  The security ware that came with it saw everything as... Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!  There were two different security systems, and of course Windows worthless suites trying to fill in as the others were eliminated.  I am having some difficulty updating the new software.  I have ordered software that arrives on cd, and will be a better long term solution, and active solution, which will also work for both this and my laptop.  What I have will work as inactive scanning, though, on top of that.  I have learned a few things.

Just getting the screen to be correct, functional, usable, was a bit of a twist.  Yeah, that old.  There were wide screens back then, but just barely.  It wasn't what these were typically set up to use.  The video card doesn't even have an hdmi out.  Mostly offline, I tinkered, toyed, pushed, punched buttons, and hoped.  It's... mostly running... seems secure after a scan...  And, after a number of adjustments, I was able to get Pale Moon going, and then find my blog, and after more tinkering, open up settings so that I could log in after several attempts.  I guess I just need problems to solve.  Not bad, really.

Right as I was finishing, I received a call from a collection agency, for the bills that the V.A. has preapproved but that the hospital had failed to attempt to collect.  It is down to $250, or so, from the initial $1250, give or take.  I told her the story, and that I do not owe anything, and that I would be speaking with hospital admin shortly.  This is a travesty of hospital incompetence that has plagued me for half a decade now.  I put some small blame on the V.A.  They approved it, and all my attempts to act as a go-between were rebuffed, by both sides.  So I take, and feel, no responsibility.  Depending on how well they handle the case will depend on how public I go with things.  Darned kids.  Off my porch and out of my financials!

Not bad, and I do like the new(er) computer.  I have yet to view videos, or check sound quality.  My guess is that these will be much better.  I might even be able to view the vids in resolutions above 480... or thereabouts.  At 720, the old machine would bog... right... downnnnn.  I wonder what else this thing can do!  Yeah, yeah, I should have done this before.  But, really, I... was a bit nervous.  I knew this would be a monster project, for me.  I am not always up to it.  Didn't think I would get to it today.  Once I put my nose in it, if I did take many breaks, it just... happened.  I still want to think about a modern machine.  I have priced components to about $1,600 and change.  I would want to add a couple of components to that, in time.  But it would do as a baseline gaming rig with serious potential for upgrading.  For now, though... I have some other projects in mind.  Teeth for a friend and a wheat grinder. 

He's... back!

Later.