Archive for June, 2009

Got a lot of valuables (cash, jewelery, etc.) you need to store safely in your home? Then, a home safe may be the answer. But, they can run into the hundreds of dollars for a good one. Here’s a cheaper solution. Go to a swap meet, and pick up a VCR. You should be able to get one for less than $10. Doesn’t matter if it works or not. Take it home, place it by your TV, and hook it up. Again, doesn’t really have to work (only have the appearance that it is part of your entertainment system), so you don’t have to be exact with the connections. Bingo, you now have a home safe (invaluable) to store your valuables. Just open the tape door, insert trinkets, and close door. No self-respecting or self-loathing thief would ever consider stealing a VCR. And, can you imagine a burglar lugging around a VCR, with the best hope of selling it for lunch money. To that end, try to get the oldest and heaviest VCR (which should be next to nothing). Even better, BetaMax machine. DVD machines next on list in near future, but more suitable for cash.

Next week’s tip: Turning Your CRT TV into an Aquarium

All of a sudden, my mouse (Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000) started double-clicking when the left mouse button was clicked once. Can you imagine the frustration. This issue began after the last Windows (Vista) update. What a coinky-dink! So, I go to the Microsoft website to download and install a new driver for the mouse. Everything goes fine. So I thought. Still double-clicking. Now, I start looking online for a new mouse to go out to purchase. I don’t have this time for this nonsense. Then I tried something. I noticed that my mouse pad was starting to look a little fuzzy. I replaced the mouse pad with another (new, non-fuzzy one) from another computer here (one that does not use a wireless mouse). I also flipped the mouse over to expose the underneath side. I blew out the optical sensor hole, flipped over the mouse, and gently tapped the mouse on the desktop. Fingers crossed (which can make it hard to operate a mouse), I tried again. No double-clicking. It would seem that hair, fibres from the mouse pad, etc., got lodged in the region near the optical sensor. And, the mouse interpreted the “debris” as movement. Sometimes a coincidence is just that, a coincidence. And here I was ready to hang Bill Gates in effigy =)