Okay, so I'm a day late with this one. I was busy watching live fireworks yesterday, but you can always save this for next year. Although, it's addicting enough to play with anytime!
Go to this web site: http://www.wtv-zone.com/cal731/FEA/LL/LL.html
There you can click anywhere, as often as you like, to have fireworks light up the New York sky (virtually, of course
Lady Liberty stands proud as you click and send up all the fireworks your little heart desires.
I'd spend way too much time trying to fix a serious problem with Dreamweaver 8, one that had been causing it to permanently crash on my main system. I'd given up on the problem for months and resigned myself to going back to Dreamweaver 2004 MX, but I missed some of the cool improvements in DW 8 (particularly the working in the Background feature).
As I'm currently working on getting out the next issue of TechTrax, I became determined to get DW 8 back working on my system. So I got a bit ruthless. With any luck, this fix will help someone in the future who is experiencing the same problem.
I don't know what caused the problem, but one day I was working away with Dreamweaver 8. I closed it and later attempted to open it, but it tossed up a warning message saying:
The cache will now be re-created because the cache file is missing or damaged, as shown below.
Okay, no problem. I assumed it would just regenerate its cache files and get on with it. NOT! As soon as I clicked the OK button on the above warning...DW 8 disappeared and nothing happened! Huh? What the...???
I tried again and again. Same result. I hunted for answers and asked gurus for help. They told me to go into my ..\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8\Configuration folder, locate the WinFileCache-######.dat file and delete it. I did. No luck!
After spending hours trying to trick DW into working, by doing everything I could think of, including uninstalling and reinstalling (which rarely helps serious crash problems, because the system files that are usually the big problem don't all actually get deleted in most software uninstalls), I finally had to give up and get on with life.
Today I was determined to give it another shot. I hunted the registry for potential keys to kill. I hunted my system file for anything having to do with Macromedia cache. Now I also had to be careful cos' I was now using DW MX and needed that version to work so I could do my web work.
But then I found a SiteCache folder under the DW 8 folders, ..\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8\Configuration\SiteCache, and decided to attack that folder. Since DW 8 wasn't starting at all, I figured I couldn't make things much worse at this point.
I went into that folder, leaving the folder itself alone, and deleted everything in it. BINGO!
I crossed my fingers and clicked the DW 8 icon...and it started up! Without the above message warning, it moved right into reconfiguring my cache files and there was the opening screen again! I was thrilled!
So if you're using Dreamweaver and you start getting the above error message and DW won't do what it should and simply crashes/closes on you, first go rip out that WinFileCache file. But if that doesn't do the trick, get bold and tear out everything in the subsequent SiteCache folder.
It worked for me...with luck it'll work for you and save you the hours I wasted trying to get this problem fixed!
Ever wish you could send a little shock to the developer who designed the software program you're using...when it crashes? Who hasn't!
Of course, the error is never our fault, it's always the fault of the stupid software program, right?<smile> Or, it must be a bug because the developer messed up, eh? Being a developer myself, I know that's not usually the case. But even I have had my moments when I've become so frustrated with a piece of software that I'd like to toss the ol' computer out the window and I'm cursing the idiots who built the software that is giving me the fits.
Well, Microsoft TechNet has had a little fun with the idea of zapping the developers who build the software. They've put together a video spoofing their technical support response system. You've seen the dialog boxes asking you to send the error details to Microsoft, right? Those little dialog boxes pop up when you experience a problem asking you to Send or Don't Send. I do hope you are all clicking the SEND button, because the cryptic data that they receive helps pinpoint problem areas in software and does help a lot. And not to worry, they are not tracking you or swiping secret info.
Anyway, if you've ever been frustrated by software, you'll want to check out this Microsoft spoof video and get a giggle...as well as a little satisfaction at the fantasy of how nice it would be to have it actually work!<grin>
Click the link below...and enjoy!
Microsoft TechNet...It's Showtime
If you have someone in your life who goes to the beauty shop and you want to save them from possibly devastating their life, READ THE ARTICLE at the link below! It explains how doctors are now seeing a correlation between some women who go to the beauty shop, have their necks cocked far back for washes and such and shortly after suffer a stroke.
"Beauty parlor stroke usually occur when customers sit in reclined positions with their heads and necks flexed backwards for a long period of time, according to Dr. Thomas Hemmen, of the University of California, San Diego. They are caused by tears in one or more of the four major arteries in the neck, which in turn cause blood clots to form. The clots then travel to the brain and trigger strokes."
Read the entire article NBC4.com, here: http://www.nbc4.com/stroke/12926674/detail.html
Now before you think I've gone off my rocker and joined the Internet newbie crowd of Chicken Littles who hear about old or bogus virus information and send out emails screaming READ THIS MESSAGE!!!!!!!!....consider this...
My mother was a vibrant 86 yr old. Sure, she had her share of medical problems and we worried about her, but she had her faculties and still handled all her own stuff as far as bills, medications and such, as she had her own living space in the house. On Friday, November 3rd, 2006, she went to the beauty parlor for the first time in a long time. She had been told that the cartilage around her carotid artery on the right side of her neck was very thin, which had been helping to cause pain in that side. They also mentioned some blockage in the carotid artery on that side. Had we known about the above information, we NEVER would have allowed her to go to the beauty shop! But we didn't know.
She went to her appointment on Friday as planned. She had a grandson's birthday party to attend the next day, Saturday, as well as her son-in-laws big birthday bash the following weekend. Mom hadn't been to the beauty parlor in a long time, so she had the works...color touch up, wash, cut, set, style. We had planned to pass her off to my nephew who was going to drive her up to his house to stay over night for the party the next day, but when I picked her up from the shop, she was complaining of a bad headache...a possible sign of a stroke...something else we didn't know about then!
So I changed the plans and took mom home to rest, take some Tylenol and allow her time to feel better. Greg drove her up to the party on Saturday. Mom assumed she would be coming home that night, as did I. But my sister convinced her to stay a bit longer and enjoy the weekend with them at the lake. Mom can't say no, so she stayed, even though she wasn't feeling all that well. She came home Monday complaining of still feeling bad and another headache from the long (1 hr+) drive home. She relaxed at home and went to bed. Tuesday morning, November 7th, I went up to see if she wanted to go with me to go vote...and she was talking like a Martian! She was having a stroke! And a week later...a heart attack that required surgery to insert a pacemaker!
Now we can't say for sure that it was having her neck bent back several times on Friday at the beauty shop that caused damage to her artery that eventually caused a clot to form, break away and cause her stroke...but if it was your mom, would you take that chance? Had we known this information before...there is no way I would have allowed her to go to that beauty shop. And trust me, she'll never see the inside of one again! Thankfully, she now agrees with that fact.
Mom is doing much better, but she's not the same woman she was on November 2nd! She still gets confused a lot and there are a lot of things that are just too hard for her to handle on her own anymore...like writing simple birthday cards to her grand kids. Most of them are mixed up. But we all understand and she's trying. I handle all her meds now and give them to her on a daily basis. Even answering the phone is a challenge, if it's not a close family member that she'll recognize right away.
So if you have an elderly person in your life whose future you care about...think twice before you send them off to have their hair done! If nothing else, warn the beautician not to wash her hair backward, but leaning forward. Maybe also wear a neck brace to help ensure that there won't be a lot of bending? Or better yet...maybe do what mom is now doing and go back to a hair style that is simple and doesn't require a beautician's touch. The family will understand! Trust me...a beautiful hairdo is not worth the pain and frustrations of suffering a stroke and aphasia!
Oh, and if you don't believe the one article above, see this link and the many articles on this "syndrome"... HERE.
Finally, if someone you love does suffer a stroke, you should also read this article to see how you can create a tool, one I used with mom, to start helping them work on getting their memory back: Create Flash Cards in Word
Note that you can click the envelope icon below to easily share this article with those you love! Please do share it! Hopefully, it'll save someone else from suffering a stroke.
For those of you wondering why the April issue of TechTrax isn’t out yet, it’s because serious family health issues are on the rise again. But I am working on it and hope to have it out in the next week or two. I also am not planning on taking a summer hiatus this year. I’ll save my vacation time for family leave this round.
Many of you know my 58 yr old brother was given a year to live in April 2006. He’s been having a rough time this 13th month into his sentence. A couple weeks ago his daughter found him bleeding on the floor in their home. He’d collapsed for some reason and ended up breaking his nose, as well as a few ribs on his flight to the floor! So now he gets to deal with a broken nose and broken ribs as well as his blood disease and chemo treatments.
Lots of folks ask me about mom. She’s recovering well from her stroke and the pacemaker is doing it’s job keeping her ticker tocking, but recently I had to take her to the plastic surgeon to have skin cancer removed from her eye lid. And she may have cracked her hip somehow now, too, because she has a lot of pain and walking is quite difficult. That doctor appointment is in a few days.
On Mother’s Day, my cousin Larry called me so I could let mom know that her sister-in-law (his Mother!) had died! Geez! He visited her that day...she died that night. Granted, she was nearly 91, but come on. Auntie Rose was one of the family’s favorite people. The aunt who never missed sending out a birthday card to everyone and the kids always got that extra dollar inside. I’ll tell ya about her sometime. Rose’s departure now makes mom the oldest person in the family. A position I know she doesn’t really appreciate holding. But does always say she plans to hold it until she's 105. She's out to beat Rose Kennedy!
And although I was supposed to take mom to have her stitches out this last week, Greg had to do it for me. Why? Because I was balled up in bed looking like something that fell out of a Petri dish. A flu bug was busy turning my insides into liquid. I was miserable for four days, telling Greg I think it was time that he just shoot me and put me out of my misery. The dogs sat Shivah on my bed nearly the entire time.
Poor guy. Now not only did he have to deal with all his own busy work, but also take care of me and our many pets, as well as mom. Greg's an amazing man and did it all without complaint...although he was thrilled to see me back on my feet recently, as were the dogs. The cats could have cared less!
So I’m sorry the April issue is late, but I hope to have it out ASAP. In the meantime, you can view the promised pictures from Bark in the Park now on our Pet Lover's page.
Talk to you, again, soon...I'm sure!
The true winners are the dogs and cats who benefit from the funds we managed to collect from all the very generous people who contributed to our Bark in the Park walk. Lexi and I, as well as Stacy and Simon, managed to collect over $2,800 to help needy dogs and cats through Anti Cruelty Society.
It costs about $50-$90 to shelter a cat or dog at ACS for a week. Thanks to your generosity, we have helped to ensure that several dogs/cats will have a safe home until they are able to find a permanent one.
Late last night, I pulled out all the names/emails of those who contributed, I gave Greg's random number generator a few kicks and came up with winning numbers. Those numbers were matched to the names of the people who contributed...in the order in which they donated...and we found our software winners.
We are giving away two copies of Office 2003 Pro with OneNote. A copy of Microsoft Expression Web and Microsoft Digital Photo Suite. The winners get to choose in the order in which their names were drawn. Our first winner was Norman Pearce of the UK. He selected Expression Web.
Norman says..."Dogs are a part of our life (my wife Sue & I), although we lost our Welsh Border a few years ago. My daughter & son-in-law have 4 welsh borders and very much into dog obedience and agility training & shows. One of their dogs was from the famous Battersea Dogs Home. They keep our interest and love of man's best friend very much alive. I am very much involved in the Royal British Legion, and intend in the very near future to develop a web site for the regions (North West London) branches, so Expression will be very useful."
Congrats to Norman. We have yet to hear from our other winners, who are: 2) John Mon 3) Steven Nichols 4) Jackie Payne
But I'm sure we'll be in touch with them soon...and will let you know what they choose and their software plans.
Again, big virtual hugs from Stacy and me to all of you who contributed to our walk!
We survived!
Although, I must tell you that...as we tried to get home through traffic afterwards...I was concerned Lexi may have a heart attack on the way home! She literally panted for hours. She was so excited that she got herself into a panting jag and was hardly able to swallow due to her constant and heavy panting on the way home.
But she did great! Thank you Cesar Millan! Cesar (the dog whisperer) explains in his Cesar's Way book, that dogs fall into a pack mode when walking together. I put faith in that and trusted that Lexi would not cause trouble, like she tries to do at the park when confronting another dog. And sure enough...she did great! Not even one little snarl at any other dog. She knew this event was something special and handled it like a pro...well, until the end when she got into her pant jag and made me worry about her. But that was due to excitement. (Simon had his own way of showing excitement...he barfed all over the back seat!)
And although the above picture shows Lexi (and Simon) in Lake Michigan, I was surprised that she wasn't as enthusiastic as I assumed she'd be about the lake. Turns out the waves freaked her out!
You can view all our 2007 Bark pictures, here http://www.mousetrax.com/pets.html).
HUGE thanks to all who donated! We managed to raise over $2,800 for needy dogs/cats!
To learn about the Bark software winners, see my post here entitled We have our winners or just click the "Bark in the Park" link below this article to see all of my blog posts related to Bark.
