Monkeys Typing Shakespeare

I started to get this really annoying error every time I went to page that had a Quicktime .mov embedded in it while using FireFox:

QuickTime failed to initialize. Error #0

Turning to Google (the modern equivalent of asking my dad which would usually evoke a “look in the dictionary/encyclopedia”), I found several helpful tidbits that didn’t help.

One bit of advice called for uninstalling Quicktime, using Microsoft’s Windows Installer Cleanup (which was useless since there were no remnants of Quicktime left to clean), restarting then reinstalling Quicktime.  No luck.  Same problem.

The next solution was to go to Control Panel–>Quicktime–>Browser Tab–>MIME Types and reset that.  No luck.  Same problem.

The third solution has too many specific steps to paraphrase:

1. Close Firefox or Mozilla Suite.
2. Delete all “npqtplugin*.dll” files (npqtplugin.dll, npqtplugin2.dll, etc.) from your browser’s installation directory plugins folder.
3. Delete all “npqtplugin*.dll” files from the Quicktime plugins folder (usually C:\Program Files\QuickTime\Plugins).
4. Go to “Start -> Control Panel -> Quicktime -> Browser (tab) -> Mime Settings” and reselect your preferred media types.

If you still have problems, close Firefox or Mozilla Suite, open the “Mozilla” or “Firefox” folder in the profile folder location and delete the file “pluginreg.dat”

Then, while reading through a bunch of search results, I happened to read a summary that mentioned a different problem with Firefox when set in compatibility mode.  I suddenly remembered that I changed this setting because of performance issues with Firefox.  Righ-click Firefox’s Alias, Go to Compatibility Tab, Uncheck “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and… Fixed!  Phew!

I recently ran into “My Way Search Assistant” on a client’s computer and wanted it GONE.  However, the normal Add/Remove Programs option was a no-go as there was no button to actually press.

I LOATH it when software is added without an easy way to remove it.  After much research (okay, I Googled the the heck out of it), I came across this extremely easy and helpful tip:

Start>Run…>Copy and paste the following
msiexec.exe /x{78d944d7-a97b-4004-ab0a-b5ad06839940}

Don’t forget to click, “OK.”

Ta-da and poof!

Looks like the folks at MonkeyGoods.com are having a big sale.  Use coupon code “Monkey60″ until January 11, 2009 and get 60% off your entire order.

How do we know?  Our monkeys work there, of course.  But, seriously, that IS a huge sale.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/clever-monkeys/monkeys-and-language/3948/

“We all know the expression monkey see, monkey do. But should the saying really go monkey hear, monkey do? Recent studies are finding that the language abilities of some monkeys are more sophisticated than previously believed. Much more sophisticated.”

I’ve been wanting to mod the old Bratz car for some time. It was surprisingly easy. I added a second 6-volt battery and connected them in series then added some rubber from an old bicycle tire to the rear drive-wheel with Gorilla glue. Fun!

Best line: “So, you think that we came from apes?”  “Well, I don’t know about you, honey, but I sure did.”

In journalism class (years and years ago) we were taught to keep things simple.. Keep the numbers simple, keep the words simple.

So, it makes wonder if the article that just caught my eye was outsourced to another country or if they simply forgot that rule. Mostly it makes me wonder where in the world a person would write that someone endeavors to do anything?

“The Emergency Unit endeavored to remove a dangling chunk of glass poking from a high-rise window that remained after the pane fell.”

A far more simple way to phrase that would have been, “The Emergency Unit worked…” or “The Emergency Unit was on the scene…” Small words… But “endeavored?”
Now this may not be monkey business at all. But I recall reading some time back that a Southern California newspaper was going to outsource their news team to India.

Having dealt with my fair share of India-based tech support I can say that they certainly endeavor to assist me in finding a most satisfactory solution to my problem. The problem that they are extremely sorry I am experiencing in the first place and hope that I will be patient with them while my record is retrieved but, in the meantime, can I please reboot my computer. That is, if I know how.

So, the real question is did WNBC outsource their news, is a writer getting fancy OR did is the author’s first language not American English? Because, how will our children learn if the words are too big for their eyes? Or, as my ADD-addled brain would say, “oooh, look at that shiny mailbox.”