Tech Stuff

I went to Hwajeong to meet two young girls who are in one of my classes. I'd promised earlier in the week, to take them to a computer room. I wanted to learn a bit more about their computer games, so the idea was to play Crazy Arcade and Kartrider with them. I was also scheduled to meet an ex-colleague from Kang's, Mona.
I decided to hit three birds with one stone, and go from Hwajeong with my computer under my arm (not quite) to Yongsan.
Since I was running late I hailed a taxi and found Ellen and Younee at the school. I called them to join me in the taxi, explaining I didn't want to carry my computer, and then we went to KFC near Savezone where I was supposed to meet Mona. I was 10 minutes late for the girls, so said I was sorry, and also said I was sorry I couldn't join them as I was 'busy'. I gave each of the girls W1000, which got them pretty excited, and sent them off to the PC Bang, and waited for Mona. I noticed a guy across the road looking at me and obviously wondering what was going on.

Saw a couple of foreigners wondering around, and then realised why. There's a Starbucks right beside KFC. I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable and stared at, standing as I was in my slipslops and Billabong shorts, and no doubt wearing a just-woken-up/where-is-she scowl on my face.
I stood there for a while and saw my weekend unravelling. All these people, and I'm hungry, and I didn't even go cycling, and the sky is so gray and grotty. Am I really going to lug this heavy thing all the way to Yongsan and then try to explain the high tech issues of this machine to someone who is just not going to get it? Will Cory be there by the time I get there? So once I've seen Mona, I get the subway, and then hike through Yongsan...

Why do I want to do that?
What will the result of this be?
Will it make me happy, will I be happy at 5pm today after having run around there all day?
Isn't there a better option?
These thoughts drifted through my mind as I waited, somewhat irritably, for Mona.

After 15 minutes Mona didn't pitch. I still don't have a cellphone (since that is pending me getting my alien card, and can't get an alien card until I get time off from morning work, etc etc) - so I couldn't call Mona to find out where she was. Decided that today was going to be one of those days, so caught the bus home instead.

I went to the coffee shop in my building where Fransa went so often on her smoke breaks. I had a frap and a croissant sandwich. I think not having breakfast and then heading out in a rush is a very nasty way to start the day. Felt a lot better after eating, and then chatted to the coffee lady, who lived in Kuwait or Dubai and speaks English fluently. She stamped my coffee card as I explained my dilema. She listened patiently, offered an idea, then listened to the complexity of the issue.
I feel somewhat embarassed going back to the computer guru in my building, after dismissing his Windows XP diagnosis on Thursday. But after calling Cory, and speaking to the coffee lady, and doing some googling, it turns out Windows XP is the problem, it's more vulnerable than any of the other Operating Systems that came before it, and trojans are what have infested the architecture, and are well known problems, and this is what has made my Cd-rom drive erratic and unreliable - it's why I can't burn the movie I made.
It semeed implausible to me that a virus would make hardware not work, but that appears to be the case. I was also hesitant to have a complete stranger wipe out all my precious data, and trust him to put it somewhere else safely, especially when I am approaching him mostly to get some of that precious data onto a CD so I can post it to Fransa in time for her birthday.
There's stuff like books (novels), detailed business plans, powerpoint presentations, digital movies and other original content that I'd like to save and use again.

The solution is to buy another hard drive (also Cory's suggestion), copy all the data onto it (probably the Trojans too), then wipe the current harddrive, and reinstall it. There's more to say but it's technical and I won't waste your time.

Since time is of the essence (Fransa's birthday is on the 6th of July) the coffee lady got the computer guru to burn the movie there and then, using a neat pocket calculator type thing to store the digital data (something like an iPod or a Mp3 player), and then transferred the file to his PC and burned it in a few seconds.

I'll take the computer to him on Monday to do the rest - check the CD-Rom, replace it if necessary, transfer the data to a new hard drive (C:) and wipe the current drive, before reinstalling Windows.

In the meantime, I am going to get rid of programs and stuff that I don't want to trouble the new system. The more I delete, the less place the Trojans have to hide.

After coffee I cleaned my whole apartment, did the washing of the kitchen and clothes.
I might run late tonight, but the weather is very thick and grotty. I can't see myself doing cardiovascular (beyond swimming) in this toxic haze. I'd take a photo from my window but all you'd see is a pale gray with what looks like the shape of buildings inside.

Will see if tomorrow offers clearer skies. If not, will try to go out (cycling) anyway. By then we'll know whether Lance won the prologue.
An interesting comment in the article below has someone saying that Lance is all marketing, that he isn't a nice a guy. I am not sure if he is such a nice guy. He's cocky and arrogant, and I'm sure these are arguably necessary traits (extreme confidence and self belief) to be a champion. I respect him for his athleticism, his drive, his iron will. He's an example and an inspiration of what can be achieved on and off the bike. He's a perfectionist, and most perfectionists have higher standards than mere mortals. This can make them (seem) superior). Anyway, like him or not, he's an interesting character, doing impressive things with bicycles and bicycle technology.

I'll go swimming today at 7pm.