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Devious Journal Entry

Journal Entry: Thu Dec 2, 2010, 9:28 AM
Hi my name is Chris, I'm HBKerr's middle son (the PC whizz).

My mum passed away on Monday night, aged 54, with what I've just been informed was a form of heart disease. It happened suddenly, with no forewarning whatsover. We're all in complete shock as you can imagine.

Considering how much she enjoyed this site and all her friends on here, I thought it would be a nice gesture to leave a message for the people who gave her so much happiness and joy in what was an imperfect life.

I'll be keeping the account open for as long as DeviantArt allows, it's great to see she had a community here.

I'd like to say more about her, and perhaps will after the funeral but for now i'm too upset to continue.

Apologies
Chris




  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee

I'm Back...

Journal Entry: Mon Sep 20, 2010, 6:08 AM
... After a week of sand, sea and sun (or rather - driving rain and gale force winds :hmm:) at the good ol' English seaside. But no matter, it was good to get away for a few days and best of all, I had some quality time with my granddaughter :love:

No news on PC front, the blasted thing still isn't working so I'm using my son's PC which doesn't give me enough time to create anything new :( But I have found some (very) old work on my external HD that looks ok so I'm going to upload some over the coming days.

Having been away from here for seven days means that I've now got some serious catching up to do, so please bear with me and I apologise for yet another faving + running spree :blush:

:hug:sss, Helena :heart:




  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee

Blue Contest Winners Feature

Journal Entry: Tue Sep 7, 2010, 8:18 AM




:spotlight-left: Presenting the winners of :icondesktop-artwork: Blue Contest! :spotlight-right:


:trophy: 1st place :trophy:

:iconsed:







:trophy: 2nd place :trophy:

:iconvulcania:







:trophy: 3rd place :trophy:

:iconkensaunders:




  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee

Random Faves 8+++ Edit!

Journal Entry: Sun Aug 29, 2010, 7:22 AM
Well, it appears that my PC hasn't survived the cat attack as well as I thought. The graphics card gave up its ghost late last Sunday and the intermittent cutting out was back with a vengeance, too. The former didn't prove a huge problem since there was a suitable spare card already handy.
I haven't got a clue whether it's working or not, since I can't get the comp going for long enough to see. So my son, after checking with his Teccy forum mates, reckoned that the PSU was at fault. That was finally replaced this morning, but now the blasted machine isn't working at all, it just keeps blowing fuses.
I think the bottom line is that I need a new PC, and considering my present financial circumstances, I don't know how long that'll take :( I am able to use my son's PC, but he's at home all day, on holiday, at the moment which means that my computer time is somewhat limited until week after next.
This is actually the first time I'd had a chance to check in here and I've got hundreds of devs to look at and a load of messages to answer :omg:, I promise that I will go through them over the coming days and will at least try to answer all messages today.

So I apologise for my absence and being reduced to the odd faving and running spree for the foreseeable future and keep your fingers crossed for me that there's a miracle (like winning the lottery :lmao:)

:hug:sss Helena




Finally finding the time to do some more features :w00t:

But oh boy, it really has been a hectic couple of weeks for me. I had to deal with a bigger spate of family dramas than usual (Gawd, don't I just love Facebook - NOT :pissedoff:) and I had some computer issues, too. I would switch the machine on, only for it to turn itself off again, sometimes almost immediately. Occasionally Windows loaded before it went off, but the system was stable once it managed running beyond ten minutes or so, although it seems to have improved now and it only happens every couple of days. This even has my PC-whizz son bamboozled, so God only knows what's gone wrong with my trusty old hulk.

And I've found out that cats and computers don't mix very well, either. They normally don't bother with it, but one suddenly took to sleeping on top of the tower at night. Not a big deal, but it's one of those cases with several fans and one of them is on the top. So I got up the other morning to discover said cat on the desk and a pile of puke next to the fan. I cleaned it up, counting my blessings that it seemed to have missed the grill, and switched the computer on. Now, with the on-going problem in mind, imagine my horror when the screen started showing psychedelic gooble-de-gook.
That's it, it's knackered completely now, I thought, but an awful suspicion arose once I stopped hyper-ventilating and cursing the cat. So I took off the side to investigate and it took me half an hour to carefully mop feline gastric juices off the graphics card. Needless to say, the computer now rest under a protective cover :hmm:


So here are some gooodies for you, as always in no particular order. I hope you enjoy :heart:






















  • Mood: Sadness
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee

Random Faves 7

Journal Entry: Sun Jun 20, 2010, 9:26 AM
Another instalment of my (sort of :B) weekly features. As always, I hope you enjoy :heart:







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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
And here's another bunch of goodies for you to enjoy :D



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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Drum roll, please - I finally got to see Avatar! :omg: :faint: Not at the cinema, obviously, but it was close enough thanks to my son and his partner's rather large screen HD TV and their Blue Ray compatible PS 3. I have to say that found the story line somewhat run-of-the-mill (bad Corporate guys against the underdogs and the latter of course wins), but oh my God, what a feast for the eyes :love: Definitely well worth the wait.

And so without further ado, here's another bunch of goodies for you to enjoy :heart:






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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
A new bunch of treasures, as always in no particular order.

Hope you enjoy! :heart:



















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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
My son's PC went to cyber heaven recently, so he hogged mine while trying to find advice on how to fix it and consequently searching for a replacement. He eventually opted to build his own and ordered £550 worth of parts online on Thursday night. They promptly arrived at 8.30 AM yesterday. Now bear in mind that he's never been inside a computer, apart from replacing optical drives, RAM and a graphics card. So I stayed well out of his way and expected to learn some new swear words when he started on it at midday.
But I didn't hear much until about 8 hours later when he proudly showed of his achievement - a brand spanking new computer, running perfectly on Windows 7 64-bit Premium. Not sure of the precise specs, but involves a quad core processor, 4 gig RAM and 1 gig graphics card :drool: So jealous, but at least I now know where my new PC will come from (once I can afford one) ;)
And bless him, he got so fed up putting up with my trusty old hulk chugging along very slowly that he finally upgraded my RAM - like he's been promising for about, ooh, the last year or so :hmm: :lmao: So expect some bigger resolution submissions from me and more prints, too :w00t:

And now that my PC time is my own again, I finally had the chance to put together another batch of features - as always in no particular order :D :heart:

Hope you enjoy! :D







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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Another mixed bag of goodies, and as always in no particular order.

Hope you enjoy! :D



























Tera :iconspoofdecator: has used, with my permission, of course, some of my fractals and this is what she has done. I absolutely love it! :love:



And here is another by the amazing Tera :woohoo:!

  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Just have to share this :love:
Tera :iconspoofdecator: has used, with my permission, of course, some of my fractals and this is what she has done. I absolutely love it! :woohoo:



And here is another by the amazing Tera :woohoo:!






A little less random this time and concentrating on two of my favourite themes - Science Fiction and Fantasy - and of course, fractals :D

Hope you enjoy :heart:




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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Another bunch of faves. Some recent, some not so and as always in no particular order :D

Hope you enjoy! :heart:












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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Recent art that caught my eye - again in no particular order :D


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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Some recent faves in no particular order :D

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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: on in amazement
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
This has honestly floored me :faint: I never expected to get one, never mind two DDs in the 16 months since I've joined dA. So a great thanks again to :iconhallv5: for suggesting it and our new GM :iconfardareismai: for featuring it :blowkiss: :hug:

I will answer all comments, but I honestly can't manage individual thanks for all the :+fav:s. I'd be here until doomsday :lol: I've also gained some new Watchers so a big :wave: to you and I'll visit your galleries as soon as I can :hug:

On a less cheerful note... I haven't been able to go and see Avatar yet, because with Christmas and everything, I was plain too skint. But my bank balance is a little healthier of late, so last weekend I thought I'd treat myself. But... it was sold out. No worries, I thought, there's always next weekend. So today I got there nearly an hour too early to avoid another disappointment, but... the 2.30 showing was cancelled due to technical difficulties. Did I want a ticket for the 8 o'clock one, the nice and rather apologetic young lady then asked. I said, I'd miss the last bus so unless you want to pay for my taxi ride home; no, I don't. So here's the check list for next weekend - get there early again, but not before ringing the cinema to make sure the film is actually showing. So fingers crossed it'll be third time lucky... :hmm:


Just a collection of recent random faves in no particular order:

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  • Mood: Love
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: on in amazement
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
I hope that everyone is having a great Christmas :xmas: :santa: :holly: :rudolph:


On Christmas day, I only pop online briefly to check my email. And I discovered that Santa had left a pressie... *baba49 had gifted me with a 3 months subscription :boogie: :w00t: Thank you so much! :rose: :hug: :blowkiss: Now I can finally do features, yay!


So I will make a start with :iconbaba49:


  • Mood: Joy
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: on in amazement
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
:omfg: :faint:... And now I've stopped hyper-ventilating...:D :w00t:

Thank you, thank you, thank you to =psion005 for the suggestion, `cmptrwhz for featuring it and last but by no mean least a heart-felt thanks to =Rozrr for providing such a versatile script to work with.

I also want to thank the many talented fractal artists here for providing me with inspiration as well as the resources that have helped me learn and create. You guys all truly rock! :blowkiss:

And a huge thank you to everybody who's commenting and faving.
:heart::heart::heart::iconthankyouplz::heart::heart::heart:
  • Mood: Not Impressed
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen... just
  • Watching: Err... more like squinting
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
My monitor gave up its ghost today :cry:
Managed to borrow one but it's an ancient 14inch CRT monitor with crappy colours. The defunct one wasn't that big, but it's surprising what difference 3 inches makes. Everything seems squashed up now and I'm having to scroll all over the place to view images.

But I'm flat broke so it'll have to do... although Mother's Day just around the corner and my sons have been asking what I want, so I'm hoping :please:
  • Mood: Frustrated
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
Finally back after Zone Alarm threw a massive fit and wouldn't let me online. It even refused to uninstall. I eventually found the misbehaving program component and ended up having to manually delete it. And in between getting rid of the old and installing a fresh version, I noted a remarkable improvement in computer performance; especially in the memory department.

But I much rather use as much of my RAM as I can to render pretty pictures than waste them on a firewall bloated with features that I haven't needed once since I've started using the Internet.

I know it's better to be safe than sorry, but I've had only two minor viruses in 9 years and getting them was my own fault for clicking on dubious links.

So I was wondering if anyone can recommend another freebie firewall that just runs quietly in the background and is less of a drain on my somewhat limited system resources?
  • Mood: Cheerful
  • Listening to: The world go by outside
  • Reading: Computer screen
  • Watching: As above
  • Playing: Nothing
  • Eating: Nothing
  • Drinking: Coffee
I've been tagged by :iconmfcreative: :iconsuicidebysafetypin: and :iconmaroc68:

Here are the rules:
|1|.Post these rules
|2|.Each tagged person must post 8 things about their selves on their journal.
|3|.At the end you have to choose 8 people to tag, and post their icons on the same journal.
|4|.Go to their page and send a message saying you tagged them.
|5|.NO tag-backs.

About me:
1. I'm German by birth, but have lived in the UK since 1977.
2. I've stopped 'growing up' aged 25, just over half my lifetime ago.
3. I have three sons (21, 25 and 28) who often act more responsibly than their mother.
4. I have one grandson aged 6 weeks with another grandchild due in June.
5. I love going to rock concerts.
6. I own a multitude of cats.
7. I don't drink, but I smoke although I'm trying hard to give up the demon weed.
8. Oh, and I'm a glutton for fresh cream cakes :D

And I'm tagging :iconjackiew: :iconhippopottermiss: :iconcreedysgirl: :iconpeterpawn: :iconamorinaashton: :iconcolliemom: :iconevilpj: :iconfiery-fire:

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