Toppy

I've been enjoying my Topfield TF5000PVRt (SD digital set top with twin tuners and 250GB hard drive) for 6 months now. It's great except for some glitches where it misses a recording (we lost several episodes of the West Wing). It means that Ryan can have his fix of Bananas in Pyjamas and Thomas the Tank Engine at any time. Usually he sleeps through the afternoon when they're on.
The best thing is watching while its still recording and cutting out the interference on analogue reception from the neighbours' plasma TV, which seems to be on 24/7.
I just updated the software applications you can add functionality to Toppy with:
ProgressBarKeys (a must according to topfield.com.au forum users)
mcgCYRResumeV1.0 (for resuming play after the machine dumps you out when the recording finishes)
Archive1.0
Automove1.8
We're still working through what they've changed.

Computer buggings 3

Further to my quest to find a solution to my odd dialog box displays I eventually found a site (I've lost the original but here's another http://www.albionresearch.com/misc/obscurities.php) that pointed me in the direction of the file windows/system32/mfc42loc.dll for MS Foundation Classes language specific resources. Once I changed its name the problem was fixed. Don't know what else uses this file!

Computer buggings 2

I've found another string of question marks. It happens when you do a paste special in Eudora and the dialog box comes up with the options "????" or HTML. The "????" should be "Text" I assume because that's what happens when I select it. I can't work out how to Google this mystery either. Variations of "message question marks dialog box windows XP" haven't revealed much.

Computer buggings

This problem has been bugging me in the background for some time (maybe since I installed XP service pack 2). In some save dialog boxes (for example Eudora address book) instead of the proper message i get "???????????" i.e. strings of question marks.

Any ideas...?

What's in my info file?

It might be revealing to review what's in my misc info file on this laptop. I thought that Explorer would have some option for listing the files as text but it seems not, so first you must set up a context menu item using a .bat file as per this helpful page.

So the list, with explanations:

jewellery: someone who shall remain nameless owed me a birthday present from last October so I was collecting pictures of the styles I like. We bought a piece in the Perigord (pic later).

A Guide to Wearing a Saree: I think I collected this because I was reminded that my mother and grandmother have some spectacular silk saris, never made up, from my grandfather's business trips to Kerala state in India. In Bhutan I bought a traditional woman's outfit which is slightly easier to put on

Entertaining At Home: self-improvement 1950's-style

Growing Figs: We acquired a fruiting fig which had self-planted under my PIL's wahing line in Canberra. We moved it to Sydney in a big pot where it tried to fruit for two years. Having not seen it for a year I don't know its current state.

How to inspect a property: I still want to "own" my own home

Move Checklist and Calender: We moved from Sydney to France in 2003. Luckily we didn't take much because we have to pack again to come home in three months. We have acquired sme fairly big items, including bikes, electrical goods

Worm_farm.pdf: I had a worm farm in two polystyrene boxes to eat my compost items. It wasn't ideal as the walls were too high. The cockroaches and slugs loved it.

BackpackGearTest, Bushwalking food, dehydrated curry, QldWalks, Kiandra to Kozi walking in Dec: various items regarding aspects of bushwalking

david: stuff about an old boyfriend

mexican train: rules for a domino game introduced to us recently but with a rather confusing rule sheet

Australian camera shops online: I was contemplating a film SLR but next time I buy it will probably be digital. Our little digital compact has taken over from my film compact almost completely.

2004NSWSquashCalender: not sure why I kept this except it took a while to download

plant_stand199905_81.pdf: I was contemplating some carpentry to make this but haven't got around to it.

corsica: information on where to visit on Corsica

quotes.txt: For example
People who are only good with hammers see everything as a nail.
-Abraham Maslow, Psychologist

vi commands.txt: from when I was computing on Unix