Hardware malfunctions

I spent a chunk of yesterday trying to get Mike's PC working after his hard disk started clicking and failing. When that happened the day before, I restarted with the diagnostic disk and tested the drive -- no problems. Scandisk found a few faults and fixed them, and the machine worked perfectly. This time no such luck -- it rapidly became useless. Research showed that this drive (an IBM Deskstar) has been known for early failure with exactly these symptoms, so I ordered a new drive. Mike, naturally, has never made backups; a few months ago we discussed his need to and copied a few critical files, like his multiyear personal journal, so nothing critical has been lost, but as usual it means more work for me -- I expect it to take a half work day to reload and reupdate everything.

Meanwhile, a few days earlier his Intel Pocket Concert mp3 player's volume control stopped working. The unit is completely sealed and I wasn't even able to get it open. So I ordered a new mp3 player for him, a Sandisk 512K. His old one had 1/4 the capacity and was much heavier, so this is an upgrade. It's about the same price as the new Apple Shuffle, but it has a screen and lets you play a particular song when you want to.

Mike wasn't too excited with a replacement mp3 player and harddisk as his birthday presents, but it's what he needed. :-) His birthday dinner (chicken Marsala at Pezzella's Villa Napoli) was delicious and he topped it off with a mocha chocolate truffle. After dinner, he left to visit a friend and Paul and I watched the rest of Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. The movie had moments, but Dorothy Parker's writings are best read on paper.

Paul and I are planning to go to Palm Springs or somewhere else warm for the President's Day weekend, so no IBR for us.