Recovery

As you know the other night I was playing with the settings on my digital camera when I accidentally erased all the pictures from my memory card.  Cam suggested I try a data recovery and Mike sent me an e-mail with some links to data recovery software.  Thanks guys, but mostly Mike!

Mike sent me four different links, but I checked out one his links to an article on data recovery from ComputerWorld.  The article is about data recovery from memory cards and USB drives and gives the run down on a few different programs.  I'm cheap, so I'm not going to spend $40 to $60 on some software that I'll only (hopefully) use once, so I tried two of the free programs, PhotoRec and Recuva.

The first program I tried was PhotoRec which the article said was very good, but I found it only recovered 3 files.  The interface is very stripped down and basic, it is strictly text and looks like an old DOS window.  This probably led me to screw something up which is why I didn't get many files back.  I gave the another try and the second try got a few more files back, but not many at 29.

Then I tried Recuva and managed to get well over 400 pictures back.  I didn't even know I had that many pictures on my memory card.  While I didn't get all  of my pictures back, I did get most of them.  Although, some of the recovered pictures were corrupted which resulted in a picture comprised of pieces of two different pictures, or a large section of a picture being blacked out.  It it still better than nothing!

Here are a few of the all time classic pictures saved from deletion.

Thumbs up Willie!

Chips'n Cheeze

Dirty skid outside Bob's Hamburgers(RIP)

Death of Slimer

Cody's best Vince impression

CRUNK!!!

Cody goes to war

Burger time

Thanksgiving cupcake turkey

Forget the shirt, I need this tattoo

Kitten pillow

I'm not done with the pictures yet!  As I said some of the pictures were corrupted and all messed up.  Here are a few of the ones that actually look cooler all screwy.

I like it how this one still managed to keep a Star Wars theme!

I had to go and delete some of the corrupted images, but I still managed to save around 400 pictures.  That is pretty good and a lot more than I thought I'd ever get back.  Thanks Recuva, I'll be keep this program around just in case.

Three down!

Only one left!

Sigh...

I had the day off today and had planned to write something a little more entertaining for a blog post, but then I got distracted and ended up sitting in front of the TV.  I had multiple ideas to choose including three different toy related posts, but most of them involved some actual work instead of just some pictures and some boring rambling by me.

Speaking of pictures I've been contemplating getting a new digital camera for a while as my phone takes better pictures than my current camera.  I don't need or want some fancy DSLR, but just a decent, but cheap, no more than $150, point and shoot camera.  I can't decide what to get, a Sony, Canon, Nikon or Fuji?  Right now I'm too lazy to do any research, so we'll see what happens.

Tonight I was messing around with the settings on my current digital camera when I accidentally erased the memory card.  FACE PALM!  Of course, I hadn't backed up any of the pictures on it and some of them were over six years old.  Hey Cam, remember the PZ3 picture?  Yep, that was like the fourth picture on the memory card, it's that old.  So with the press of a button I flushed a few hundred pictures down the toilet.  That is why I hate all this digital BS!  If I had an old school camera I'd have prints of my pictures and negatives as backups.  Now I just take picture, don't get prints done and leave them on digital memory cards for me to erase by accident.  They were mostly garbage pictures on there I can easily live without, but there were also some I would've liked including a couple hiking trips with my dad, Logan and Avery.  There was also a blog post three years in the making on that memory card.  I was going to write it one day I swear!

Anyway, I'm totally bummed now.

Slow boat to China

I finally got around to mailing a package to Murray today.  I had originally meant to send it before Christmas, but I dragged my feet on that one and knew he wouldn't get it in time anyway, so I held off.  Then I thought I'd send it to him in time for Chinese New Year, but it looks like I'm going to be late for that too.

I went to the postal outlet and got the prices for the different shipping rates.  The first was like $23 which came with or without tracking for reason at the same price and either option would take 6 to 8 weeks.  WHAT?!  Why would it ever take that long?  And what's the point of even getting package tracking if it's going to take that long to get there?!

The 6 to 8 week option was unacceptable, so I went with the next one which cost me $48.66 and should take 2 - 3 weeks by air.  I taped the box up with my Canadian flag packing tape, so they know it couldn't possible hold anything illegal like weapons, drugs, or bootleg movies.  Hopefully, it won't get opened, but it is noisy if you shake it, but that's because of the the candy inside.  Still the contents of the box, which wasn't all that big, only cost about half of what it cost to ship to Taiwan.  Damn you Canada Post!

Hey Murray, check your mailbox in 2 to 3 weeks!

A lot of sox

I had to clean out and organize my sock drawer which wouldn't even close because it was so full.  I have a few pairs set aside for the thrift store, but this pile of socks below are all singles or socks all full of holes headed for the garbage bin.

Out with the old, in with the taco socks.

See ya CD playa

Remember this thing?

I found this in a box of electronic/gaming stuff in the basement.  I forgot I still owned a portable CD player.  I took it out to listen to it, but unfortunately it doesn't work any more.  It gets power, but the disc just spins and spins and spins and doesn't actually play music.  That sucks because I was looking for something to listen to my CD-Rs while I go jogging.

I've never actually owned a real stereo system as all of my systems have been the bookshelf kind.  My first CD player came in Christmas 1992 when I got a Sony Discman from my grandparents.  I hooked it up to my cassette bookshelf stereo via the aux input to listen to it.  I also got Sloan "Smeared" that Christmas as one of the first CDs I owned.  Eventually, I got upgraded to bookshelf stereo with a CD player, so I used my discman in front of the computer when playing games and stuff.  That is until my brother had a party and someone stole it.

Eventually, I replaced it with a Kenwood CD player, but that I rarely used it and later on got rid of it.  Then I got tired of driving to and from Cranbrook in my Wrangler with only a cassette player, so I bought this cheap Koss player and a cassette adapter, so I could listen to CDs on the drive.  Once I got the Cavalier which had a CD player I didn't really need the Koss any more, so it went into storage.  Now the Koss will go into the recycle bin with the rest of the other old broken outdated gadgets.

Limited Time Only!

I was disappointed with these.   I'm still bitter they got rid of the guacamole Doritos.

My Spidey senses are tingling!

Here is another picture of lil' Keith I discovered while looking for a different picture back at Christmas.

This pictures pre-dates Pac-Man shirt Keith, camo Keith and ET shirt Keith.  I always used to wear this ET shirt with 3/4 length sleeves, but couldn't find a decent picture of me wearing it, so you'll have to use your imagination.   It had an iron on type ET picture and was shiny and stuff.  It was cool.  ANYWAY!  Forget about the fact that I'm wearing a t-shirt that doesn't have sleeves, just check out that awesome Spider-Man backpack.

I want it right now!

Ooohh, scary stuff kids!

Yesterday after the flea market and disappointment of no Smash Burger, but before Crave we went to Urban Sound.  The very same Urban Sound where I got the Star Wars Christmas album and then bought the Count Floyd album.

Cody is the one who found it, but for some crazy reason didn't get it, so I picked it up.  I knew right away that it wasn't going to sound that great, but I liked the 80's cover art.  Plus it's Count Floyd!

It's not a full album, but a mini LP/4 songs as it says on the cover.  Doesn't that make it an EP then?  That is probably a good thing because it makes it easier to listen to if it's only a few songs.  I'm not sure I could handle a full album.  Joe Flaherty wrote the lyrics and performed them, but he doesn't actually sing so much as speak the lyrics.  He does have a backing band, The Wally Hung Experience, with music by Paul Flaherty who I'm assuming is Joe Flaherty's brother.

The music isn't that great with some disco-y sounding stuff and even some reggae thrown in.  The best song is "Count Floyd Is Back" that has Count Floyd going on stage after the Rolling Stones fail to show up for a concert much the disapproval of the audience.

The Count Floyd album is only the second SCTV related album put out with the first being the Bob and Doug McKenzie album.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing.  It's still a cool oddity/rarity to own, but I still bought it mostly for the cool cover art.  It's scary stuff!

Love bug

For the first Sunday in a while I actually went out today.  The past few Sundays I've had off I pretty much did absolutely nothing and sat around the house instead of going out.  Of course going out doesn't mean I went out for a walk or anything.

I went to the Sunnyside flea market and bought this cool Herbie Hot Wheels.  I got it from the same guy I got my HW Mystery Machine from.

I/we also got some other stuff, but I'm saving it for another post.  Don't get too excited because it's not that awesome, it's just picture intensive.

After the flea market we went to go eat WAY over at Smash Burger, but it wasn't open yet because someone broke into it last night and they we still cleaning up.  I guess something took the "smash" part literally.  It doesn't work that way!  So we headed over to Crowfoot Crossing and I bought a Happy Birthday cupcake from Crave.

I bought it and I ate and it's not even my birthday.

Also, last post I wrote about the candy and advent calendar I got from work, but on Friday they had more Christmas stuff.  This time it wasn't candy, but cards and gift wrap and it was all free.  They just dropped a pallet of it up front by customer service and it was a free for all of people grabbing stuff.

For some reason Cody grabbed a big bag of bows, six rolls of wrapping paper and a box of Christmas cards.  I don't think Cody even wrapped a single present this year and he needs all that stuff?  I've been using the same wrapping paper for three years running, those six rolls are going to last forever.  Unless it's a really really big present.

It's better than nothing?

I've some bad news for you guys.  I went to the Lego store to get a Star Wars advent calendar, but they were all out.  Last year they had lots, but this absolutely nothing and that goes both the Star Wars version and the regular Lego version advent calendar.  Maybe everyone else got wise and picked them up early.  Maybe next year if I go there around mid-December and they will marked down just enough to make it worth it.

The good news is that on Wednesday I got a free normal advent calendar.

Not much of a consolation in not getting a Lego Star Wars calendar, but it was free so it's better than nothing.  At work they had some left over advent calendars and bags of various Christmas gummies in the break room, so I helped myself.  I probably could've grabbed enough calendars for every month this year, but I didn't want to be greedy.  I know some of those poor poor Superstore employees will take one home and end up eating it for dinner.

The middle gif will haunt your dreams

I'm getting this feeling that you guys are embracing the epicness that is David Hasselhoff.  I hope these help.

I'm a kung fool

Not only did I buy this movie on DVD with my hard earned money, but I also watched the entire thing including the end credits.

I believe this qualifies as a case of self-harming.  I think I'll just start cutting myself as it's probably a lot less painful.

Captain Caaaavemaaaann!!

May the force be with somebody else who is a lot cooler

Last week I was at Phoenix Comics just looking around and not really finding too much, but then I saw something.  Something I had to have!  I was hoping to unveil it in a grander fashion, but I just couldn't wait any longer.

I just couldn't pass up a replica Star Wars X-Wing pilot's helmet.  It's obviously all plastic, but the inside is padded with foam, so you can comfortably wear it.  It's not new either as the stamp on the back is dated Lucasfilm 1997.  I'm guessing it came out around the time of the Special Editions were released in the theatres.

It's pretty cool, but I'm not too sure what to do with it.  OTHER THAN LOOK TOTALLY AWESOME!!

I wonder if it is CSA approved, so I could wear it skateboarding, skiing, or at the construction site.  I could even wear it while driving around in my car.  On the side streets I'd keep the visor up, but once I hit Deerfoot Trail I'd have to lower the visor, because that's where shiat gets real.

Check out some more pictures of the helmet below.

I took that picture of me wearing the helmet by myself, so I had to take a few pictures before I got a decent looking one.  Yes, that one I used is one of the better pictures, believe it or not.  Since I had a lot of leftovers, I just threw them into a fuzzy animated gif.  Enjoy!

NERD!