My thoughts... Your comments... Our technology...http://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/en-US2012-02-23T18:18:55ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)A WAY TO EXPRESS OUR LOSShttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2011/8/28/a-way-to-express-our-loss.htmlmartarius2011-08-28T12:41:15ZA wonderful friend of ours passed away this week. And the thing that really touched me were the messages that were left to her account on Facebook.

We live in a wonderful technology enriched society. There are so many ways to communicate our feelings to the world at large. Facebook, Google+, Twitter, et al... Reading the messages on Linda's page, brought this home to me in a way that I never really thought about before. Sure, we can use social media to tell people Happy Birthday, to discuss the great meal we had, to vent after a bad day. But to use this as a way to tell a family how the loss of a loved one has affected us is, for a lack of a better word, amazing. And moving. I hope her family can access her account and see the wonderful, loving, kind, moving messages that loved friends have sent.

Rest in peace, dear Linda. You will be missed.

]]>So long Realm, hello Aficionadohttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2011/2/27/so-long-realm-hello-aficionado.htmlmartarius2011-02-27T17:05:24ZWell, I've decided to go for broke.

I 've been wanting to have my own tech blog, so here I go! First I am changing the name from Martarius' Realm to the Tech Aficionado. Bear with me while I change the site, hope to be up by the weekend of March 5th. Stay tuned!

]]>It's Almost Overhttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2010/11/2/its-almost-over.htmlmartarius2010-11-02T16:45:01ZI always look forward to the Wednesday after the first Tuesday in November. My television and radio are free of political attack ads (as well as my web browsing). I have been a part of this world for 46 years, and have spent 18 of those years exercising my right to vote. But as the years go on, it is becoming harder and harder for me to go to the polls to use this right. And I blame the Republicans and the Democrats.

Disclosure: I spent the first 20 years of my voting age as a registered Republican, and the last eight as a registered Democrat. Now, I am so sick of them both, I going to switch to Independent. I wish the elected in this country would listen the electors, instead of their own distorted beliefs and those of Limbaugh, Pelosi, Hannity, Reid, et al. And yes, I deliberately group those polar opposites together. They are all responsible. I'm tired of choosing the lesser of two evils.

This is my two cents, what yours?

]]>Why Don't I Post More?http://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2010/10/30/why-dont-i-post-more.htmlmartarius2010-10-31T02:25:33ZI need to post more. If not, I'm just wasting money. So stay tuned...

]]>Happy New Yearhttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2010/1/1/happy-new-year.htmlmartarius2010-01-01T13:48:50ZOn behalf of martarius.com, may I wish you a happy, safe, prosperous 2010. May if be full of joy, peace and love.

]]>A Message to the Masses: Please Backup Up Your Datahttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2009/12/25/a-message-to-the-masses-please-backup-up-your-data.htmlmartarius2009-12-25T15:53:19ZIt is amazing to me how seeming intelligent people do not backup their data. Especially important data such as Quicken. So, as have so many in the past, I guess it's time to bring my two cents into the ring.

People... let me explain to you the working of the average consumer grade, internal hard disk drive. This device is unlike a file cabinet. It is used to store data that you have installed or created on your computer. It is also a machine. Most hard drives have a tiny little motor that turns the plates. These plates are what your data are stored on. The data is retrieved by the read/write arm. (Think of the arm of a record player, if you were born before 1980). And like any machine, a hard drive is prone to failure. Those little motors can burn out. And if that motor dies, the plates will not turn, the read/write arm will not see the data. And all those pictures and documents and movies and music are long gone... unless you have a few thousand bucks laying around and take the drive to a facility with a clean room; so they can remove the platters without dust damaging them.

So, how can you prevent this, you ask? BACKUP YOUR DATA!!! Quicken even asks you before you quit the program. There are so many ways to keep that important data save. Here is my recommendation. It is a two fold system. First, backup your data to an external device: a flash drive, external hard drive, even CD or DVD disk. Secondly, sign up for a online file storage provider. I recommend Carbonite, but there are others. Mozy is another good one. These usually run about fifty dollars or so a year. And there are more that I can't think of right not...XDrive comes to mind as well. Microsoft has one called SkyDrive that is free, but has size limitations. Mozy does as well. Google has a pay file storage that run five dollars a month. Google "online file storage" or "free online file storage" and see what it brings up. You can also backup those important files and store them in a safe deposit box or mail it to Aunt Myrtle. Make sure you do it! And do it often. And, for heaven sake, don't send your backup to the same hard drive!

We have a opportunity now in the digital age that was not available before. If, heaven forbid, your home caught fire, or you wereburglarized , even a within a few years ago, many important documents or beloved photos were lost. Now, with digital photos, and optical scanning, we can save these items, and be able toretrieve them if something horrible happened. So think about this. It is not difficult. Please, just make sure you do this. You may not have the latest Quicken file, but it will be easier to recover with a couple weeks old then it is starting from scratch.

Oh, one last thing. Don't take the hard drive apart yourself. Even though you don't see dust in the beam of you desk lamp, as soon as you open that drive up, you'vecontaminated it.

]]>Compliments of the Seasonhttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2009/12/25/compliments-of-the-season.htmlmartarius2009-12-25T13:35:22ZWe at martarius.com wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May this holiday season be full of love, peace and joy.

]]>A Night of Fear and Upgradehttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2009/10/24/a-night-of-fear-and-upgrade.htmlmartarius2009-10-24T14:14:24ZI can’t believe I am actually saying this, but I had a pleasant experience install a Microsoft product. I am still amazed on how easy the Windows 7 install was!

Now, a caveat: I did a clean install of Windows 7 Professional. I wanted to go from 32-bit to 64-bit, and the upgrade option did not allow me to do this. So, I threw caution to the wind and rebooted to the DVD. I did not even hesitate when I chose the Custom install option. I sat there, watching the install (which is still like watch paint dry), wondering on what I may have gotten myself into. I was active checking Paul Thruott’s SuperSite for Windows for ideas on what horrors may lay before me. The time came to enter the product key. My hands were sweating as I typed the key. I was making contingency plans on reinstalling Vista, just in case the install did not work. Then the computer rebooted. I held my breath…

Then, it finished, rebooted, and voila! IT WORKED! IT WORKS GREAT!!!! Even the printer install for my old HP LaserJet 8150 went great. Windows 7 did not show the printer on the initial group of printer choices. But Microsoft had an option to go online to search for more printers. It took a few minutes, but the list updated, and there it was: HP LaserJet 8150 PCL6. Even my DVD software suite installed fine.

So, stay tuned. Twelve hours have gone by, and my system hasn’t exploded yet. It looks like I may be in for a nice ride.

]]>Religion and Technologyhttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2009/9/28/religion-and-technology.htmlmartarius2009-09-29T01:07:30ZHere is a query for all the subjects in the Realm:

I have been trying to find a way to take the calling that God is giving me and my love of computers and all things technology, and put them together. Perhaps a technology consultant towards churches. Please leave me feedback and comments on your feelings on this. I would love to hear your input.

]]>Why I can't win at pokerhttp://www.tech-aficionado.com/journal/2009/9/24/why-i-cant-win-at-poker.htmlmartarius2009-09-25T02:51:48ZOne of the highlights of my week is poker night. (I play twice a week, when able; but the Tuesday night game is nickel/dime. Thursday is Texas Hold 'em) We can be a small group, or a large one, but it's a great time to laugh and intimidate.

The only problem is, I CAN'T BLOODY WIN! I'm sorry to you poker aficionados, but poker is 20 percent skill and 80 percent luck. I think I do well on the 20 percent, but I can't buy bad luck if you spotted me $100. Like tonight, I started off with pocket bullets. Now that got me thinking, the night is gonna be good. But, when the flop comes and you can't capitalize on dual aces, something is amiss. I tried slow playing it, to see what the others did, but the turn and the river were not friendly to me. I tried to dig myself out of this hole, but got taken out with a straight.

The next hand was better, won with a ace high flush. But that was the highlight of the evening. It was pretty downhill from there. I would just once, like to finish in the money so I can play in the second game. Oh, lady luck, where forth art thou!

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