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Overdrive Media Console Runtime Error

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Since there is next to NO support for this software anywhere, I thought I would share the fruits of the last hour of working. Coworker brought in their PC (Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit) that whenever they tried to launch Overdrive Media Console, they’d get a Runtime C++ error. Uninstalling and reinstalling didn’t work, but oddly, the software would run under another account.

Solution makes me want to kill MS, or Overdrive, or someone. Anyway, there was a temp file in /Users/UserName/AppData/Roaming/OverDrive/Media Console.

Obviously if the software isn’t running, there shouldn’t be any 0KB temp files. Deleting it fixed the problem. Guessing the software crashed at some point, and didn’t clean up after itself on the next attempted (and thereafter) launch.

Filtering X10 and TED signals

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I’ve talked a bit about this subject before, but with a new experience under the belt, I thought I might add to the collective knowledge out there.

I recently (week or two ago) installed a 12V track light system that obviously uses a transformer (in this case, electric) to step down the standard 110V household current to 12V. It’s not on the same circuit as my TED, or even the same phase, but immediately when turning on the lights, my TED signal drops to 0. It must be that this transformer is putting out so much noise on the system, that it’s going all the way to the transformer at the street, and then back along the second phase. Really, no idea.

Anyway, after discovering I couldn’t move it to a different phase, I started looking at filtering options to remove all the noise it was causing on my power system. At first I thought I would just filter the offending light, and looked at X10 XPNR‘s which seem like they’re added to the offending device, and remove the noise. But THEN, I stumbled upon this! Holy cow, an actual “official” solution. And while they have them for less than $10, shipping was almost as much as the product itself. So, I went back to my trusty supplier, and got one here, for a total of $16 with shipping. When it arrived late last week, I was a bit surprised by it’s size. Yes, it says how big it is, but you don’t quite get that until you have it. It’s pretty darn big. But, using the directions posted on the TED site, I was able to wire it in (using pigtails for the red and white wires, since all three wires were far too short), and fit it in my breaker box. And afterward? TED works like a charm. I’d imagine my actual signal reliability will be higher with the filter since everything else in the house is no longer causing dropouts. The only other thing I could do would be to create a REALLY dedicated circuit for the whole TED, but that just seems excessive. Maybe if I upgrade to a 5000 I can put it all on it’s own circuit.

I’m approaching another year with the TED, so I’ll be posting back for the new year with new numbers comparing to last year, analyzing this year, etc. Stay tuned!

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas

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While not a stoner, I do enjoy the Harold and Kumar movies as they are silly, and a nice call back to the days of National Lampoons, and other classic 80’s comedies, not to mention the primary actors in them being highly enjoyable, and talented. As such, my wife and I went and saw Harold and Kumar 3 this last weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The movie starts off well, and we soon determine the “plot” of the movie is replacing a lost Christmas tree. Danny Trejo plays Maria’s (now Harold’s wife) father, and he places a great deal of importance on Christmas. Harold and Kumar haven’t really been friends in a while, and their story lines don’t intersect until maybe 20 minutes into the movie. Once that happens, it becomes a very familiar with the previous movies. Hi-jinx ensue, and they eventually meet up with NPH, who as usual plays a caricature that could only come from a Harold and Kumar movie, and this time maybe even funnier than previous examples. He even explains what happened when he died in the last movie. After all this, and a brush with death, we get the extremely campy scene similar to the cheetah ride in the first movie, and the whole movie ends on a nice happy note. All and all, it’s a pretty good movie. I’m not sure it’s worth the $19 it cost for two of us to see it in 3D, but they do make fun of the 3D aspect a few times (it’s a joke a few times, as are nice topical things refering to Kal Penn’s previous job (for the White House), and John Cho’s previous role in Star Trek). See it. At least in the cheap theater, or on DVD.
[xrr rating=4/5]