Virus-Free Monday Update
January 19, 2009
In this age of disposability, what do you do when your four year-old laptop gets a seemingly un-removable virus? You spend less than half of what the laptop originally cost, and you get a desktop computer with three times the storage and twice the processor speed, and you begin anew.
I tried everything. Given the amount of time I wasted and the amount of frustration I experienced, and given the amount it would cost to have a professional technician look at the machine, this was the best option. So here I am, with my brand new not quite state-of-the-art desktop computer, which is a quarter of the price of the first computer I ever bought, a 48K Apple II clone, which I bought in 1985 (or thereabouts).
Yesterday I preached my twelfth sermon on Paul's letter to the Romans, this one on Romans 5:18 and 19. I'm thankful that I had already done some in-depth study on Romans 5 at the theological college, because there's some heavy theological lifting in this chapter. We've also made it as far as Lord's Day 16 and 17 in the Heidelberg Catechism in our catechism study, which brought us to the "He descended into hell" clause of the Apostles' Creed. There's an excellent article by Dr. J. Faber on this issue here:
http://www.spindleworks.com/library/faber/descended.htm
We were happy to have some first-time visitors at church yesterday from Houston and Vanderhoof (for those who aren't familiar with the local geography, Vanderhoof is about an hour west of Prince George).
So it was another very enjoyable Lord's Day, made even more enjoyable by young Harry Potter (my nickname for our older foster child, because he bears a striking resemblance to the young magician), enthusiastically shouting out "Amen," with everyone and raising his hands along with me in the benediction. Wonderful!
I tried everything. Given the amount of time I wasted and the amount of frustration I experienced, and given the amount it would cost to have a professional technician look at the machine, this was the best option. So here I am, with my brand new not quite state-of-the-art desktop computer, which is a quarter of the price of the first computer I ever bought, a 48K Apple II clone, which I bought in 1985 (or thereabouts).
Yesterday I preached my twelfth sermon on Paul's letter to the Romans, this one on Romans 5:18 and 19. I'm thankful that I had already done some in-depth study on Romans 5 at the theological college, because there's some heavy theological lifting in this chapter. We've also made it as far as Lord's Day 16 and 17 in the Heidelberg Catechism in our catechism study, which brought us to the "He descended into hell" clause of the Apostles' Creed. There's an excellent article by Dr. J. Faber on this issue here:
http://www.spindleworks.com/library/faber/descended.htm
We were happy to have some first-time visitors at church yesterday from Houston and Vanderhoof (for those who aren't familiar with the local geography, Vanderhoof is about an hour west of Prince George).
So it was another very enjoyable Lord's Day, made even more enjoyable by young Harry Potter (my nickname for our older foster child, because he bears a striking resemblance to the young magician), enthusiastically shouting out "Amen," with everyone and raising his hands along with me in the benediction. Wonderful!
Stuart says:
January 19, 2009 @ 11:18 — Reply
So...what did you get? How big of a monitor? What are the specs? C'mon now Jim... Also, did you try reformatting your laptop? That usually helps (as long as you have backed up your important files). Can you tell I'm a bit of a technophile? What a passage to preach on. Didn't you take my first exegesis paper to heart? The blood, sweat and tears I poured into it? I should check out your sermons some day...get some pointers!
Jim says:
January 20, 2009 @ 12:38 — Reply
Stu, it's black, about 4 inches wide, 14 inches long. It has little pluggy things for the UBS 4 ports. Lots of them. It has three stickers on the front and a blue light (rather hypnotic) that turns on when you press the big button on the front. It has a little thing sticking out of the front with "D-Link" written on it. It flashes (orange, which makes me want to speed up before it turns red) when I turn the computer on. This is also a nice comfort for me as I work alone in my study. It also has a beautiful cup holder. Or is that a cd-rom drive? As for the laptop, no, I didn't try reformatting it. I don't have any of the original disks or anything, so it's sitting in my closet on top of a pile of other stuff. And as for the passage - I remember the work that went into your exegesis paper, but I remember with even greater fondness the extended smackdown I received on my Romans paper!
Stuart says:
January 21, 2009 @ 08:02 — Reply
Ah, the good old days. I remember that now...you took the 'let's not spiritualize Israel' stance, if I remember. Didn't you convert Dave to your view as well? As much as I miss school, I don't miss it enough to wish myself back there! Sounds like an interesting computer, with all the lights and buttons and ports. I thought you were more tech-savvy than that! ;) As for your old laptop, there may be a partition on the hard-drive which holds the necessary information for you to restore it to it's original pristine glory. If you e-mail me what kind of laptop it is and some details, I'll see what I can figure out for you...
Albert Witteveen says:
January 21, 2009 @ 09:35 — Reply
Where BCAA or Norton when you need it :-) gr pa