Hardware/Software

XM radio has been replaced by the Myine Ira

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Updated below for the Sanyo R227.

Well, almost.

I’ve been a great fan of XM satellite radio for years. In fact, I was an early adopter of the technology with the original Sony 5-channel receiver. It was a great unit for its time, but I eventually replaced it with an XM Roady some years ago. I think  it’s time for another change.

Myine Ira wi-fi internet radio

Today I added a Myine Ira wi-fi internet radio to my electronics. 11,000 stations, and no annual fee. Just about all of the stations I listen to on XM are available. Just about? Hell, all of them are! And yes, most of those 11,000 stations are available from a computer also, but what the hell. It’s the end of the ’00s, and I need updating too.

  • It comes without speakers, but I don’t have a problem with that. It’s plugged into my stereo, just as the Roady is.
  • There are no controls on the unit itself, but I figure the limited remote is good enough for me, just as it is with the much better Roady remote.
  • I already have the 40-channel presets on the Ira loaded and ready to go.
  • Setup was a bit of a bear with the entry of my wi-fi settings and passphrases, but now that I’ve got it set for both of my wireless modems, I’m good to go.
  • I checked some reviews, and noticed that some people have had problems getting it to locate their wi-fi networks. I upped the power setting on one modem, and for me, the problem went away.

My XM subscription is probably going to go the way of the dodo at some point in time, but that’s all right. I don’t do a lot of roaming any more. When I do, I can take this thing with me and keep current in style.

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Sanyo's R227 internet wifi radio

I’ve also added a Sanyo R227. It’s wifi or wired, has eight presets for wifi and eight for fm reception. You can add unlimited stations to a my favorites category when you go online and register the radio. They’ll all show up alphabetically. It also has an alarm if you want to use it to wake up.

Here’s a review.

Hardware/Software

Can’t download or install new gadgets in Windows 7 using FireFox?

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Update November 18, 2013: Fix for Gadget display issues after IE11 Installation on Windows 7.

Update October 19, 2013: If you have recently discovered that your Windows 7 gadgets have stopped working, the solution below is an old one, and out of date. You might want to take a look at this post.

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The solution:

  1. Load Internet Explorer (yeah, yeah, so smite me).
  2. Copy and paste the download new gadgets website into the Internet Explorer address bar: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize?T1=desktopgadgets
  3. Hit Enter.

Use IE to get all the Windows 7 desktop gadgets fit to print – or more likely, install. Each one you select will install into your gadgets sidebar, which can then be found by right-clicking on the Win 7 desktop and selecting Gadgets.

I have absolutely no idea why FireFox v3.5.4 won’t download new gadgets, but I don’t care any more. I now have the ones that I want.

The solution was simple, but

  • I’ve been using FireFox for so long that I’ve pretty much forgotten all about Internet Explorer.
  • I couldn’t find the answer on the web, no matter what combination of words I used in the search bar for FireFox or Internet Explorer.
  • Trying a variety of search engines didn’t come up with the answer.
  • What I did discover was wild comparisons with Vista, turning on and off sidebars, registry codes and totally useless answers to queries posted on forums. Thanks for nothing.

Added bonus, if you read this far:

If you’ve added a clock gadget to your desktop, you might want to turn off the clock on the taskbar so that that it doesn’t take up space. To do this:

  1. click on the little up-caret on the right-hand side of the taskbar;
  2. select customize;
  3. at the bottom of the outlined rectangle, click on Turn system icons on or off;
  4. make your choices from there as to which icons you’d like to have displayed on the taskbar.
Politics, Stupidity plain and simple

La Société St-Jean Baptiste est dérangé

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Talk about having your cake and eating it too, or, mange la merde, you stupid frogs.

Those silly imitation frenchmen (with apologies to France) in Canada are at it again. For some strange reason, these mentally-challenged retarded people appear to think that they now own all of North America. Don’t tell the tin-hat brigade in America, or they’ll be manning up the border with more drones on wheel-skis.

A Quebec sovereignty group wants Prince Charles to apologize for the cultural genocide of francophones in North America. – cbc.ca

That’s because in early November, Chuckie and his lovely bride (one of the ugliest women in the world, if not the ugliest) will be appearing in Canada at a variety of venues, including Quebec. Where’s Diana when you really need her, Charles?

the heir to the British throne will only be welcome in Quebec during his Canadian tour if he atones for the alleged sins by the British after their conquest of North America.

Grievances are believed to be among, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

  • deportation of the Acadians in 1755.
  • establishment of an English-language majority in Canada.
  • patriation of the Canadian Constitution without Quebec’s consent.

Here’s a couple of grievances those patriots at la Société appear to have forgotten:

  • the fact that in the last referendum to separate from Canada, they lost their chance to leave – unfortunately for the rest of us.
  • the Montreal Canadians haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1993.

Who among the brave Société St-Jean Baptiste will apologize for that?

Link to article here.

I almost forgot:

Go on. Get out. Shoo!  Nobody wants you in Canada. And on your way out, don’t forget to start learning English so that you can interact with the rest of the world, you bumbling, money-sucking ingrates.

Politics, Stupidity plain and simple

Had enough?

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(updated below)

Raise your hand if you’ve had enough of the swine flu H1N1 plague pox garbage foisted upon us by fear-mongering mainstream media asshats, who can’t find enough “news” to shout out. These rocket scientists have pushed the panic button on the flu, and talked themselves and everyone else into a situation that no amount of pushback can control.

Thanks to the ignoramuses of network television:

  • It’s a pandemic.
  • It’s swine flu.
  • Yes, you can eat pork, thanks to the “pork” lobby.
  • Then it’s not swine flu.
  • It’s H1N1.
  • Wash your hands.
  • Don’t wash your hands, because no one really knows how flu spreads.
  • Wash your hands anyway.
  • It’s killing people.
  • It’s killing less people that the “regular” flu (whatever that is).
  • Masks help.
  • There aren’t enough masks to go around.
  • Masks won’t help.
  • Want to get inoculated? Too bad, so sad. There isn’t enough vaccine, because too many people want it.
  • Pregnant? You’re going to die.
  • We’re all going to die, since there isn’t enough vaccine for everyone.
  • Okay, we’re not all going to die, but we’re all going to get sick.

Ad nauseam.

Link to an earlier post on the subject here.

Update October 31, 2009: In a normal flu season, approximately 2,000 Canadians die.

To date, 85 Canadians have died from H1N1. Many suffered from underlying health problems such as chronic lung disease, asthma, hypertension, obesity and diabetes. The total Canadian H1N1 death toll might total 825 by the time it’s over.

Politics, Stupidity plain and simple

Mexico as banana republic

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At a recent press conference, some former Mexican parliamentarian, while visiting the true north, strong and free (Canada, for the uninitiated), whined about deteriorating relations between the two countries. Apparently, Mexico is pissed that Canada doesn’t want a plague of snowshoe-wearing Mexicans thrust upon its southern border.

Relations between Canada and Mexico have deteriorated badly under the Stephen Harper government and won’t improve as long as Harper remains prime minister – Rosario Green, chair of Mexican Congress foreign affairs committee, via thestar.com

Well, Ms. Green, by your own admission:

According to Green, most of the Mexicans who seek asylum in Canada are not fleeing mistreatment at the hands of Mexican officialdom, but fear attack by the drug cartels that plague her country. – the star.com

So then, because Mexico is unable and unwilling to govern itself, Canada should take up the slack? Not bloody likely.

Ottawa slapped a visa requirement on Mexican visitors, a measure the government says was necessary to reduce a mounting tide of “bogus” Mexican refugee claims. – thestar.com

More whining and sniveling ensued because Ms. Green was subjected to the following before being granted a visa to set foot in Canada:

officials at the Canadian embassy in Mexico required her to provide, among other documents, a copy of the property title to her Mexican home, copies of her last six bank statements and a letter from the Mexican Congress confirming her position and salary

And why not? Perhaps she too was trying to escape attack by the drug cartels that plague her country.

Link to article here.

Riding farther, seeing more