Ohhhh... I' ve missed this sunset :)

It is good to be back :-)

Idea #1: Install Windows-7 on external drive and use it to flash BIOS

No. It seems like windows 7 cannot be installed in removal USB drive? Fail!?? Yes indeed. There are some workarounds here and there, but honestly, I didn’t want to spend my vacations on trying random stuff.

Idea #2: Use flash utility via FreeDOS

The supplied executable file is actually a compressed file containing all the necessary files to perform the BIOS flash. However, the provided Insyde flash utility cannot be executed in DOS environment. Sad but true. After googling a couple of hours, I found the flashit utility which can be used to flash Insyde BIOS in DOS environment. So the task was easy:

1) Create bootable FreeDOS USB or CD

2) Put flashit and bios rom image on it

3) boot

4) flashit.exe <bios-image.fd> \all

5) Enjoy your new BIOS :)

I wonder why HP couldn’t provide a non-windows way to flash your BIOS. This is just stupid. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Messing around with BIOS can brick your hardware. Think twice before doing it.

It ‘s been a while since a person that I loved way too much, left this world to join a better one. So in memory of this wonderful woman, who used to smile and laugh all day long, and many other lost souls, we will participate in a half marathon this March, in Reading. Several charities are involved in this marathon, including the Pancreatic Cancer one, which is the one we run for.  If you want to join our group and run with us for fun and life feel free to join us.

[1]http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com/

[2]http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com/charities.htm

[3] http://www.justgiving.com/selinaandfriends

Disclaimer: Today I am not gonna discuss anything Open Source related, so you may stop reading if you were looking for a cool Qt4 or Gentoo related topic. This post might make you feel miserable or something. You‘ve been warned :)

I will have a conversation about the gift of life, with you and my self. During the last few months, unfortunate events are taking place in my life. Sudden illnesses or long-term illnesses that simply getting worse day by day are occupying my everyday thoughts.

“Seize the day”. In other words, do not let any single day get wasted. None of us can be sure about the future. We all wish to be happy and healthy but unfortunately life is not fair. Sometimes, I consider life as a game. A game with unfair and hearse rules, strict judgment, and of course as in every game, there are winners and losers. The worst thing is that in most cases, you can’t do anything to prevent bad things from happening. You are simply a watcher, waiting for some kind of miracle or a fairy to fix things automatically. Yeah, I know that sometimes that works. But those times are fairly rare.

“Making dreams”. This topic is by far the most popular among my discussions with my friends. Should we make dreams or let the life make her own choices? Wait, I know that many of you believe that people are supposed to make future plans and dreams otherwise we are turning into machines. Like when you plan the vacations months ago. You can’t stop thinking of them no matter what. And this is definitely a motivation, a reason to work harder, feel stronger, get over bad times, because something good is about to happen.

But what if an unfortunate life event changes your plans? Not necessarily a bad thing, but something that forces you to rethink about the future twice. Fulfilled dreams make you feel awesome, but what about those dreams that you were forced to let them go? Many people feel quite disappointed when they are not able to make their dreams true. The worst part is, when this decision wasn’t their choice, but somebody else’s. Reports show that people recovering from such disappointment, are afraid to make future plans for quite a long time. They are defending their feelings and protecting themselves from another disappointment. And this sounds reasonable to me. But again, not all dreams are doable. You should keep making dreams even though you are sure that they are not even close to reality. I’ve said before that life is a game with unfair rules. Unfair is not always similar to ‘bad’;-)

Let’s get back to the “gift of life” part. You should be thankful for every breath you take. You won’t understand this feeling until you have a near death experience (car accident or stuff) or, even worse, fighting with a dangerous illness such as HIV, cancer and so many more of those. It is true, that most people think that bad things can’t happen to them, that they invulnerable. Of course this statement is by far unreasonable.

As you may have noticed, this post is quite confusing. It is more a random series of thoughts about life and people attitude on it. My whole point is to ask you (and remind myself) to respect your life, don’t take anything for sure, make dreams and don’t give up when you fail to make them true. Keep making dreams in good and bad times, because this is what matters. This is what makes you stronger and gives you enough energy to stand up and deal with life face to face. If you stop making dreams, you’ve lost the game. You are “dead” even though you are as healthy as a small child.

Loreena McKennitt is on a Mediterranean Tour. Yesterday she visited Patras to perform  an amazing, 2 hour long, concert.

My mind was traveling back into medieval times during the whole time.  Her beautiful voice in conjunction with the variety of mystical sounds produced by the fabulous musicians created an outstanding atmosphere.

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