Gateway MX6445, Vista 64bit audio driver

This is public service announcement for anyone banging their head against a wall trying to get audio on a Gateway MX6445 that has Vista 64bit OS installed.

There isn't a driver.

I've just spent a week googling every answer, and communicating with Gateway tech support. I download just about all of the 64-bit audio drivers they have, and tried to install them, unsuccessfully. They simply don't have a driver, and they're not working on one.

So why would Gateway sell you a computer with a 64-bit processor, but yet fail to provide you with 64bit drivers? Beats me. Just keep it in mind when it comes time to upgrade your laptop.

If this situation changes, I hope someone will post an answer in the comments here.

Minnesota Train Attractions for Kids

I have a son who loves trains. For several years now we have plied the state, taking advantage of the various railroad attractions offerred here. So, here is my list of train-related things that we like to do in the Great State of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Zephyr offers rides and dinner tours out of Stillwater. I haven't done this yet, but it looks like fun.

Check out the Jackson Street Roundhouse in St. Paul. They have a nice museum, and give short rides with a diesel engine. We once saw the full sized Thomas the Tank Engine here, and that was worth a special trip for our young kids. We try to visit to the JS Roundhouse on our regular trips to the Twin Cities.

The Minnehaha Depot in Minneapolis is a neat place to visit to get a sense of what the old depot's were like.

The Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Rally operates some great old steam and diesel engines, but only during the labor day holiday. Kids love it, and its really worth a special trip. It's near Moorhead, MN, in Rollag. They also operate an old steam powered miniature train, which little kids love. Seriously, this a steam power wonderland for children. Arrive early in the morning, and plan to spend at least one entire day. You'll be a little dusty and sweaty at the end of the day, but that's how you know you've had a great time. Water bottles and wagons are ok.

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth is fantastic, worth a special trip. The museum is in an old depot, and its huge! Lots of trains that kids can visit and climb on. They offer tours along the beautiful Lake Superior shore. We rode the old "Budd Car" up the shore to visit a cool old lighthouse. It's worth a special trip! Plan to spend the whole day.

Take a ride on the historic Harriet-Como street car line in Minneapolis. My kids really loved this. You can get off (or on) near a bandshell, where you can get ice cream and toss bread to ducks in the lake (be sure to bring some bread crumbs with you). Not worth a special trip if you live out of town, because the ride is so short, but be certain to work it into your next visit to the Twin Cities.

In Dilworth, Minnesota, there is an old mothballed steam engine situated in the city park just off Higway 10.

If you learn of any other Minnesota train attractions, let me know!

Some other nearby train attractions that are within reach for Minnesotans:

The Prairie Dog Central Railway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is worth a special trip. Our kids loved it. The train takes you up an railway old line where the crossing gates are lowered by hand. You will travel through some great little Manitoba towns where the local people turn out to play music, sell ice cream, art work, and provide you with a really fun time. Our kids were able to tour the cab of the Diesel engine, and also the steam engine repair works. Many of the volunteer are railroad retirees; they were truly representative of the "Friendly Manitoba" image, and it was clear to us that they were passionate about this little Railway. We'll be back.

There's also a miniature train in Fargo, ND, at the Yunker farm children's museum. Its great for little kids. Work it in the next time you're in Fargo.

BlackBerry Curve 8330 and the dreaded "Unknown Error Reported."

Have you recently bought a Blackberry 8330 curve?
Want to synch it with Outlook 2007 on Vista?
Is desktop manager giving you the dreaded "unknown error reported" message?
Are you not even able to "Configure Synch?"

If so, then maybe this is the post that can help you.

I had this error, and tried to find a solution to the problem. Judging from all of the messages, it seems as though there appear to be a myriad of situations that can lead to this problem. I eventually resolved it, and here's what I did. I hope this works for you, too.

First, be sure that there is no other Synch software on your computer, such as Palm Synch.
I've also heard that MS Contact Manager should be disabled.
Try to disable any other applications in your system tray. I also disabled PC Tools antivirus, some backup software, and anything else that I saw running there.
Uninstall the Blackberry Desktop Manager, and check "remove all components."
Reboot your computer.
When the machine boots back up, connect your Blackberry to the USB cable, and then reinstall the software.
After reinstalling Desktop Manager, reboot (keep the Curve connected to the USB port).

Restart Desktop Manager, and go immediately to Synchronize > Configuration > Configure Synch, and start the process of configuring your synch with Outlook. If you got this far, then you're probbly in good shape.

Run a synch. Did it work?

I hope so! Good luck to you!

Thinking of Suicide?

My 8 year old boy, when he gets very upset about whatever, will sometimes blurt out, "I hate my life. I wish I was dead."

Of course, this is just heartbreaking for a father to hear. You try tell him that things aren't so bad, that he'll get through the problem. That tomorrow will be a brighter, happier day.

I came across this quote today from Dawn Kellestad, and it moved me, because it is just so true:

"When my son Michael took his life he thought the pain would end -
But it did not. It went on, and was passed on to others."

My 8 year old is an interesting kid. He's truly a horse of a different color, with thoughts and ideas that are unusual for his age. He's very special to me, and I love him with all of my heart. If I ever lost him the way Dawn lost her son Michael, it would be a crushing blow to our lives from which I don't think I could ever recover.

If you are thinking of suicide, just remember that mother's comments. It may be over in an instant for you, but your pain will continue to live on and will be a trebeled burden for everyone else. A better option is to seek help from anyone and everyone around you. No one will be better off if you kill yourself.

My favorite "Made in Minnesota" Motion Pictures

A list of favorite movies that were either shot in Minnesota, or use Minnesota locations as a backdrop.

1. Juno
2. Fargo
3. Purple Rain
4. A Prairie Home Companion
5. Mall Rats
6. Grumpy Old Men
7. On Golden Pond
8. The Mighty Ducks I, II
9. Feeling Minnesota
10. Purple Haze
11. Iron Will
12. North Country
13. That was then, this is now

Here's another list of movies filmed in Minnesota.
Let me know your favorites.

Feeling bad? This will make you smile.

Blogging from the cell phone

Just in case you can't get enough of this blog, I signed up through Flickr to be able to send cell phone pictures directly to the blog. Its overkill, I know, and I will probably use it sparingly, if at all. I just thought it would be cool to try it out.

I was at a Barack Obama rally last week; it would have been fun to send up some pictures from there.

AEC FBO Esafe Card - Scam!

Today I checked my bank statements. I noticed 5 incoming check charges in July for $19.85 and I couldn't figure out what these were for.

A visit to the bank showed that the charges were placed by AEC FBO Esafe Card. I had never heard of AEC FBO Esafe Card .

The bank asked me to call them to see if I could reverse the charges. I went back and called them at the number on their check, 1-866-610-8416, and just got a mechanical voice that talked in circles.

Although there is not presently much information about AEC FBO Esafe Card on the web, here are a couple of links, mostly to rants by pissed off consumers complaining about this scam:
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=532956
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/336/RipOff0336327.htm

My bank was not thrilled to help out. since there were seven charges to dispute. But they completed 7 pages of dispute paper work, and I had to sign my signature "under oath" that the charges were fradulent.

I asked the bank to dishonor any other electronic checks presented by this "company." I was told that this was impossible, and that I must either a) spend the rest of my life coming to the bank to sign dispute paper work to contest future charges or b) change my bank account.

Option B is probably what I will need to do, but then who is to say that this company won't just somehow figure out my new account number? Changing my bank account is a huge hassle, because I will need to contact all of the companies that I have legally authorized to charge my account, and those that send me money. That means that I'll have to go through the trouble of "confirming" my new bank account xx times with companies like PayPal.

What a pain in the ass!! All because banks either can't or won't block fraudsters from zapping cash out of my account.


So if AES FBO Esafe Card is slowly leeching the life out of your bank account, be sure to visit your bank and demand that they assist you under Federal Regulation E.

UPDATE!
I installed PC Tools anti-virus, and it did indeed find a keylogger trojan infection on my laptop!! If your bank account is being leeched by this company, SCAN YOUR COMPUTER NOW. I believe this is how they obtained my bank information. Not so coincidentally, my Credit Card company said my card was identified on a list of stolen cards so they sent me a new card; I believe this trojan captured my financial data.

Interestingly, a problem that was having with my mouse disappeared after removing the trojan keylogger. If your mouse cursor is behaving funny, this might be a symptom of infection.

Good luck!

Update (8-8-08)
Today I had to reverse more charges from "Modux Payment: Modux Inc." They have their phone as 866-925-1969. The bank that apparently is enabling their illegal activities is "First Regional." There is no bank information on the e-check. They were balsy this month, taking $100.00, and $19.85.

AEC FBO Esafe Card can probably morph each month into some other company.

Its just astounding to me that someone could use the US banking system in this manner. When I opened my accounts, I had to provide all manner of proof. I thought things were locked down. So much for George Bush's secure financial system: criminals are still running rings around the Feds, while the burden of doing business falls on the honest people.

Minnesota Crayfish (or Crawfish) Trapping

Although formerly and presently from Minnesota, I managed to take a pleasant detour in life, and traveled to New Orleans, where I graduated from the University of New Orleans. During that time my Louisiana friends introduced me to the pleasures of shuckin' crawdads. On the way home after class, one of my top pleasures was to stop by Deanie's SeaFood in Metairie, LA, and and buy 5 lbs of crawfish, some crawfish flavored Zapp's potato chips and two bottles of Dixie beer. Yumm, what a great meal for a college student!

Of course, in Minnesota you don't eat crawfish (or crayfish as they're called here). Or do you? I am determined to find out.

I just bought my 2008 Minnesota fishing license, and in the license guide is a very, very brief mention of crayfishing. I've decided to drop a few traps in some local streams and see what I can catch. Here's what I've come to understand about crayfishing in Minnesota:

• The open season for taking crayfish is April 1 through November 30.
  Crayfish less than one inch in length from tip of rostrum to tip of tail must be returned unharmed to the water.
• Crayfish may be harvested with gear allowed for rough fish and minnows in addition to gear specified in this part.
• Crayfish traps must be tagged with a plastic or metal tag not smaller than one inch by three inches bearing the user's name and address.
• The mesh size for crayfish traps may not be less than one-half inch, stretch measure.
• Floats used to mark traps may not be larger than four inches square or four inches in diameter.
• Rough fish parts may be used within a crayfish trap as bait. So go catch some carp for bait!
• Crayfish traps may be lifted from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset.
• Crayfish traps must be lifted at least once in each 24 hour period weather permitting.
• All trapped fish must be returned to the water.
• Dead crayfish or the shells or meats of crayfish may not be returned to the water or deposited on any shoreline or adjacent area.
• The transportation of any crayfish in Minnesta from one body of water to another is prohibited.
• You must have a valid Minnesota angling license
• You may take and possess up to 25 pounds of live, whole freshwater crayfish.
• If you take live crayfish for bait, you can only fish with them the same body of water where they were caught.
• Crayfish may be harvested for personal use in any Minnesota waters of the state where fish may be taken by angling, and to which the harvester has legal access, unless otherwise posted.
• Crayfish taken for personal use may not be sold
• If you're a Minnesota resident under the age of 16, you can fish for crayfish without a license.

Here's where I found most of the crayfish rules. https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/rules/?id=6259

Some Minnesota crayfish, like the Rusty Crayfish, are considered invaders. More about Rusty Crayfish at the DNR site.

Here's another article about eating crayfish in Minnesota, and a page listing species of crayfish found in Minesota.

StarTribune has this article on eating Minnesota Crayfish. And be sure to watch this video about cooking Minnesota crayfish by the cute and woodsy Amy Thielen. Here's another article about eatin' da Minnesota mudbugs.

This is a good site for beginners to crayfishing.

My goal for this season is to catch enough crayfish to boil up with some Zatairan's crab boil, and try to make a meal out of them. I'll need at least 10 pounds.

I put in a minnow trap today with some old meat (I know, fish is better) and I'll check it later today. I would be thrilled if the local rivers would generously bear crayfish. I'm sure I'm the only guy in the area, perhaps the state, who would like to eat these mudbugs.

So that's my crayfish story for the day. If I get good at this, I'll invite you over for a crayfish boil. Catching your own is not as easy as popping into Deanie's, but I think will still be a lot of fun. If you're interested in Crayfishing, leaving a comment for me with your best tips.

Goodbye American Airlines, Hello Amtrack. American Airlines to gouge travelers who take a bag

So American airlines wants to gouge passengers another $15 for simply checking a bag? We will add our voice to loud chorus condemning American Airlines.

Have you ever noticed that the airlines are always blameless? "Don't blame us," says American. "Blame expensive oil!"

It seems that Airlines can never be held responsible for their customer relations fiascos, whether its treating passengers like crap, eliminating meals, or holding passengers hostage for 9 hours on the tarmac.

I call this the "Blame it on the weather," syndrome. Airlines have become so used to blaming their problems on acts of God, the weather, strikes.... its never, ever, EVER the fault of management. Never the fault of poor planning. Never a repercussion of lousey service.

For all the inconvenience, for all the "extra time" required to check in, for all the lack of amenities, for all the humiliation of passing through security, for the expense of parking, I would still rather drive. We have to leave home for the airport at least 2 hours before our flight, just to be sure that we can deal with all of the crap of flying.... so right off the bat before we get on a plane, that time represents nearly 200 miles that we can easily drive. Add in a flight delay, the time to collect my luggage and rent a care, and even at $5 a gallon for gas it is still a better deal for me to drive up to 500 miles than to fly. Now if I take 2 bags, thats an extra $30, about half a tank of gas --- go ahead and add another 150 or 200 miles to the range that it becomes more cost effective to drive.

So screw American airlines. Hello small cars and Amtrack.

So go ahead, American. Gouge your customers while providing lousey service. Your day of reckoning is close at hand.

If Microsoft won't buy Yahoo, then I will

Yesterday, Microsoft cut off talks with Yahoo and stomped away. Yahoo shares dropped 16% that morning.

I figured, this must be a good deal. Afterall, Microsoft is the company that, in their arrogance, balked at paying $1 billion for Google some years ago.

So I figure.... If Microsoft wants to pay something like $36B, then surefly, Yahoo must be worth much more. I dug deep into my pockets and bought 400 shares of Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).

Its not the first time I've owned Yahoo. Many years ago at a cost adjusted $8 per share, I bought them and held on to more than $300 per share. But the reality hit, and the stock plummeted to around $20 a share, and I sold. Although according to the IRS I made money and owed capital gains taxes, in my heart I felt that actually lost tens of thousands of dolalrs.

So this is the second time around for me and my new girlfriend Yahoo! But it wasn't just because Microsoft refused to take her to the prom just because she refused to put out.

I find that I'm spending more and more time on Yahoo. I love Yahoo Finance. I love their political buzz. The search is iffy but still not bad. They actually have "columnists" that I read. I also like the local news section for aggregating news from local sources.

Yahoo has come along way. Its profitable. Its clearly undervalued if Microsoft wants it. I'm glad to own Yahoo. They have a lot strong assets to build on.

Yahoo honey, I'm with ya till death do we part. I may not be as rich as Steve Ballmer, but I'm a helluva lot better looking.