The woes of Junior HP continue. I tried on Sunday night to video one of the fits on my phone — the screen gets a line running across and then flashes. It is possible to do such things as shut down, but impossible to post anything while the fit continues. This image from the video turns out to be a selfie as I must have accidentally switched the lens, a fact I only noticed yesterday morning.
But that is enough to show the effect is quite dramatic. There was a shorter episode yesterday morning.
So I summoned up the Event Log after it had stopped and found the probable event. On Facebook I noted:
At the relevant time: “The time provider ‘VMICTimeProvider’ has indicated that the current hardware and operating environment is not supported and has stopped. This behavior is expected for VMICTimeProvider on non-HyperV-guest environments.”
Subsequently went down the Microsoft rabbit hole and found nothing intelligible there.
I did find this in due course:
What is a CMOS Battery? How to Remove and Replace One in a Laptop
Battery failure may also prevent you from connecting to the internet. BIOS is tasked with maintaining hardware and network drivers.
One thing you should be relieved about is that CMOS failure typically won’t cause you to lose any of your personal files. Nothing in storage is affected. You’ll still have all of your pictures, videos, and documents waiting for you as soon as you’ve replaced the battery.
From HP
Ominous though. I think I may soon have to visit JB HiFi.
Speaking of selfies
Toilet reading
Going as far back as childhood days in The Shire when newspapers were kept in the outdoot dunny to serve many purposes, such as making flaming torches at night to get the redback spiders off the toilet seat, I have tended to read something while on the throne.
When I left Surry Hills I distributed my books to a number of worthy recipients, including 2MBS-FM for their book sale. I brought mainly reference books to The Gong, especially as I was in 2010 wrapping up my Chinatown coaching in Sydney, commuting to do that until the HSC was over. Of course now the books are used less as so much is available on the internet — Wikipedia, so many dictionaries, and of course the ability to search. Not to mention eBooks of which I have many, 3,000+! 99% free too!
But in the bog I peruse select reference books, lately these two:
The Oxford Companion is now in a second edition it appears. Mine is the 1993 first edition which is still extremely useful, even on hot issues like gender and inclusiveness!
Over 1,400 entries
This new edition of a landmark Companion notably focuses on World Englishes, English language teaching, English as an international language, and the effect of technological advances on the English language. More than 130 new entries include African American English, British Sign Language, China English, digital literacy, multimodality, social networking, superdiversity, and text messaging. It also includes new biographical entries on key individuals who have had an impact on the English language in recent decades, including Beryl (Sue) Atkins, Adam Kilgariff, and John Sinclair.
It is an invaluable reference for English language students and fascinating reading for any general reader with an interest in language.
Of the many usage guides around — and I have about five — the Merriam-Webster is in many respects the best. You can find in the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary site many of its entries, but sadly abridged. Wikipedia has an entry on it.
The book has been praised by language experts. Stan Carey at the blog Sentence First concludes that it operates “in such a thorough and unbiased way is what elevates MWDEU so far above the ordinary. Each entry is presented in a much broader context than is typically the case in books that advise on English usage and style.” It is critically acclaimed by the linguist Geoffrey Pullum, who calls it “the best usage book I know of… utterly wonderful. The Economist included it in its list “What to read to become a better writer,” stating, “What distinguishes MWDEU is its relentless empiricism.” It is known for its historical scholarship, analysis, use of examples, and descriptive approach. It has more than 2,300 entries, and includes more than 20,000 quotations from prominent writers.
It makes great toilet reading!
Neil's Commonplace Book 