Go for it. Just double check all of your backups before you wipe. And Google is your friend if you get stumped. I'm all for people learning to go beyond simple computer usage. As a computer tech it actually makes my life easier to have more competent users.

There's always the part that is a crapshoot. Sometimes you get a bum drive and that's that. Other times you'll have a different component in the system fail and it will take the drive with it (eg, PSU). Sometimes the drive is just old and fails. Sometimes the drive was jostled at the wrong time and it caused a…

You bring up an interesting point. I worked for 7 years as a computer repair guy, so I've seen plenty of HDD failures in my time, but you are correct that there are a lot of people who mistake other (software) problems as an HDD problem. I've also seen a lot of the opposite, where people think a system has viruses…

Yeah, I've heard similar stories. I've got a buddy in the BCSO who's told me some interesting interactions he's had with APD.

I was thinking the same thing. I'm guessing you're in ABQ too? I think they finally got over their shooting people dead problem. From what I understand they've managed to get it down to just tazing people instead. At least we have green chile though, right?

It's a major award!!

I'm calling dibs on New Mexico.

You can just use this recent photo of me.

Blue daba dee daba dai?

Maybe it's just me, but I find all this desktop customization pointless. I never really see my desktop because I've almost always got something open. I don't even have icons on my desktop.

WHERE'S RIG STIG?!?!?!

For the most part I like it on the Fusion. I think it's a bit...toothy. If it weren't so tall I would definitely like it even more. That being said, for some of the other cars (eg Fiesta) it doesn't translate as well.

I'm a fan of MP3Tag. It has the ability to search many different databases and is super customizable. You can rename files based on their tag information to the parameters you set. Basically any metadata you can store it will find (including pictures.)

I think the Chinese car manufacturers will have similar issues coming into the US as the Japanese and Korean manufacturers did. There are going to be questions about quality for a while (especially with the current view of Chinese made=cheap crap) and designs very well might range anywhere from boring to downright…

There's several things I think need fixing with NASCAR, but the biggest one in my mind is consistency in the management of rules, penalties, etc. (Disclosure, I'm a fan of Clint Bowyer and pretty much the whole of MWR's cars, but I'm trying to be as subjective as possible here).

I had an interview one time where they asked me to pitch a garlic toothpaste (this was a computer repair/sales job). Definitely the strangest question I've had, although I understood the logic behind it.

I've taken to using ioBit Uninstaller on customer machines. The main reason being that they have a batch mode. I can go through and check all of the programs I want to remove, and then get to it. Once it's done there's a big scan for all remnants and I can get rid of them in one fell swoop. My only complaint about…

That won't work with Tmo. All of their plans are no contract. And the cost of the service is separate from the cost of the phone. If you buy a phone from them you can leave at any time, you just have to pay off the balance owed on your phone. If you bring your own phone in (which they actively encourage) you only…

I could do that too. That house about a 1/4 of a mile away from mine.