WindowsXP Reinstall

What a few days. My Windows XP install on the Dell has been unstable for a few months; and I thought I had managed to recover XP enough to have a stable platform. Unfortunately, on Friday night it finally exploded. Also two Outlook .pst files went west (thank goodness for backups!). Completely erased the hard drive, reinstalled XP, and all the required updates. Sometime between installing these updates and the virus checker, I was infected with a ping-flooding virus. All is cool now. Just recovering the final pieces now.

Phone works in the US

For the first time, and on my 20th trip to the US, my mobile phone works in this country. Woohoo! 19 of the 20 trips have occured in the last 10 years, which also about how long I have used a mobile phone. In that time, my phone has never worked here. India, UK, Singapore, NZ, Thailand – all OK. USA, no. I can even SMS!

Dambusters

Watched Dambusters, a movie of the true story of 617 Squadron during World War 2. When you realise that the leader of the squadron during the war, Wing Cmdr Guy Gibson, was in his mid 20’s (and sadly died later in the war) – and over fifty brave men died on this mission – it makes you realise that the generations before us paid a significant price for our freedom and way of life. The most surprising revelation is how many of those who died in this squadron were Australians.