The TIW Blog

It’s a shame that the only way to get Democrats out of Congress is to wait for them to die. We got rid of one vile slug last year and now another one this year. Are any other Democrats close to death? Arlen Specter looks like he’s at least half dead, but he’s looked like that for years as a RINO.  Let’s hope that Americans will vote more of the slime out this November… waiting for all of them to die is taking too long.

I know that it’s not good that one more Democrat has likely gone to Hell, but at least there’s one less Democrat to infest the House of Representatives (for a while anyway). Like most Democrats, this disgusting filth did more than his share of corrupt and criminal deeds to destroy our country.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – U.S. Rep. John Murtha, an influential critic of the Iraq War whose congressional career was shadowed by questions about his ethics, died Monday. He was 77.

Click HERE to read more.

Flush DNS Cache

If you’re doing a lot on the Web, sometimes your DNS cache will grow in size and slow down the performance of your browser. You can manually flush the DNS cache to restore performance:

From the command prompt, type “ipconfig /flushdns” and then press <ENTER>

Change DNS TTL

Another approach is to have Windows clear the cache automatically, faster than it usually does. You can improve your Web browsing experience by giving DNS entries a shorter time to live.

In Windows 7 or Vista, you can add two regestry keys to change the amount of time it takes for Windows your DNS cache to expire:

First, create the keys:

Click “Start” and then type “regedit” into the “Search programs and files” box.

Press <Enter>

In regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters

In the right pane, right click and choose New and then select “DWORD (32-bit) Value”

Change “New Value #1″ to MaxCacheTtl

In the right pane, right click and choose New and then select “DWORD (32-bit) Value”

Change “New Value #1″ to MaxNegativeCacheTtl

Now set the values:

Right-click on the MaxCacheTtl entry you just created.
Choose “Modify” from the menu

Under “Value data:” enter “1″

Right-click on the MaxNegativeCacheTtl entry you just created.
Choose “Modify” from the menu

Under “Value data:” enter “0″ (it should say zero already)

Here’s a sample of what your settings should look like:

Close Regedit and reboot (or restart DNS)

It’s begun. Power hungry Tea Party activists are selling themselves and the gullible citizens out to the corrupt Republican Party. Who said, “Keep your enemies closer”? That’s what the Republicans are doing. With the Tea Parties in bed with them, they have silenced the most vocal and effective grassroots voice of the people that we’ve had for decades.

But the South Carolina and Greenville County Republican parties still plan a partnership with the Tea Party movement, and their chairmen are scheduled to release more details Monday.

Tea Party activists in the Upstate said Patrick Haddon, chairman of the GOP county party, and Dan Herren, its state executive committeeman, last month proposed that the GOP work with them to vet candidates, designating the ones who met certain criteria as “Tea Party Republicans.”

Tea Party activists, however, rejected the plan and were planning to protest it until Haddon intervened to stop the demonstration, said Harry Kibler, spokesman for the Upstate Coalition of Conservative Groups.

The newly formed coalition includes Tea Party groups in Greenville, Seneca and Boiling Springs, and the Campaign for Liberty associated with libertarian Congressman Ron Paul. Its members share a belief in limited government as called for in the state and federal constitutions, Kibler said

South Carolina is “going blue” and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Republicans suck and Republicans are losers, that’s why they are never effective at politics.

Click HERE to read the entire story.

If you’ve ever been to the Greenville County Library, you’ll know that the computer section is always the busiest. Now South Carolina’s community colleges are going to be open for public use. Why? South Carolina is almost last in the nation when it comes to Internet connections. The solution is perplexing, however because the additional millions being used to furnish public access computers will do nothing to increase the incidence of household broadband. It seems like if “they” are so concerned about people not having decent Internet connections that “they” would take steps to make affordable Internet access available from home. Of course that would mean that the Public Service Commission would have to deny some rate increases to the cable and DSL service providers in the state. Of course, the Public Service Commission has never met a rate increase it didn’t like, so that’s not a likely option.

The truth is that the corrupt politicians know that if more people at home had broadband that they wouldn’t have any reason to get more money to waste on public computer centers! Furthermore, it’s good to have one more area of life where people are dependent on the government – right?

From The Greenville News:

The state’s technical college system, which includes institutions in Greenville, Spartanburg and Pendleton, said in its grant application that only 39 percent of South Carolina households have broadband access. That put South Carolina 49th among 50 states for broadband availability, according to the application.

Click HERE for the complete article.

Suddenly, Wicked Witch of the West, Nancy Pelosi has lost her concern for the millions of Americans who were out of work. As Bush presided of modest unemployment figures, she felt the situation was intolerable. Now that the Jihadist enemy of America Barry Soetoro is in office and record numbers are unemployed, she has yet to ask Soetoro where all the jobs he promised during his fraudulent campaign were.

Pelosi: Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President?

August 1, 2003

Washington, D.C. — House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ announcement that 470,000 people abandoned their job searches in July and that 3.2 million private sector jobs have been lost since President Bush took office:

“The fact is that President Bush’s misguided economic policies have failed to create jobs. Since President Bush took office, the country has lost 3.2 million jobs, the worst record since President Hoover. And today we learned that in July nearly half a million people gave up looking for a job.

“Job losses are taking a real toll on the financial security of American families. While Democrats are fighting for opportunity, jobs, and economic security for working families, Republicans continue to focus on helping those who need help the least.

“According to today’s survey, while the national unemployment rate dropped slightly, it still stands at a near record high. In addition, the unemployment rate for African Americans was still over 11 percent in July, and the unemployment rate for Hispanics was 8.2 percent in July.

“It is time for President Bush and the Republicans to get to work for all Americans, not just the elite few.”
###

Click HERE to read this on the witch’s web site.

Q:After upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7, my Daemon Tools stopped working. I tried to re-install, but keep getting errors when the program installs SPTD. What can I do?

A: This is a common problem when Daemon Tools was installed on the previous OS. In fact, the first clue you should’ve had is that Windows 7 listed Daemon Tools as a compatibility problem during its compatibility review. No worry though, because your issue is easily corrected.

First, use regedit to delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sptd. Yes, delete the entire folder. If you can’t delete it, right click on it, select “Permissions” and then click the “Advanced” button. On the “Owner” tab, give yourself ownership, apply and go back to the regedit screen and delete the folder.

Still in regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_SPTD. Try to delete this folder. If you can’t delete it, expand it. You will see a folder called “0000” and another one called “Control.” Right click on control, select “Permissions” and then click the “Advanced” button. On the “Owner” tab, give yourself ownership, apply, click “OK” and assign “Full Control” to “Everyone.” Click “OK” to go back to the regedit screen. Right click the folder and delete it.  Do the same for the “0000” folder and then for the LEGACY_SPTD folder.

Delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_SPTD

Delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Enum\Root\LEGACY_SPTD.  If you can’t delete it, expand it. You will see a folder called “0000” and another one called “Control.” Right click on control, select “Permissions” and then click the “Advanced” button. On the “Owner” tab, give yourself ownership, apply, click “OK” and assign “Full Control” to “Everyone.” Click “OK” to go back to the regedit screen. Right click the folder and delete it.  Do the same for the “0000” folder and then for the LEGACY_SPTD folder.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\eventlog\System\sptd

Open “Computer” from your start menu and browse to Windows\system32\drivers. Delete sptd.sys.

Reboot

Download the latest version of SPTD from http://www.duplexsecure.com/en/downloads and install. You could go straight to the Daemon Tools install, but this makes sure you have the latest version, plus it takes less time to learn whether or not it will install.

Install Daemon Tools Lite.

From The Greenville News:

Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS) senior, Bryce Tyson, has received an appointment to The United States Military Academy at West Point. Tyson will graduate from SFCS in May of 2010. He has attended SFCS since the 8th Grade and has been listed on the High Honor Roll for every year in attendance. Tyson’s academic achievements create a long and impressive list of accomplishments that led to his appointment to this prestigious academy.

He is a member of the National Honor Society and served as Vice President in 2008/2009. Tyson participates on the Varsity Math team, and is Debate Captain of the Varsity Speech & Debate team. He has been awarded multiple awards including academic recognition as a junior scholar from the following institutions of higher learning: Coker College, Gardner Web University, Lander University, Newberry College, College of Charleston, Wofford, Furman University and Presbyterian College. Tyson was also named the 2009 ITT Technical Institute Technology Student of the Year for demonstrating exceptional skills and knowledge in technology.

Tyson has assumed and been elected to multiple leadership positions at SFCS including serving as Student Body Secretary (2008-2009), Senior Class President (2009-2010) and SFCS Junior Marshall (2009). He represented SFCS in the 2009 Palmetto Boys State event. Where he

won the mock Nationalist party nomination for Mayor (for the City of Congaree), passed the PBS Bar Exam (mock Law School) and became a certified PBS lawyer. Tyson was also elected as one of five Associate Justices to the Supreme Court by the General Assembly.

Tyson has served in the Civil Air Patrol for three years and as attended the 2005 South Carolina Wing Encampment as a basic cadet. His South Carolina Wing Activities positions include: Charlie Flight Sergeant, Public Affairs NCO In Charge, Echo Flight Sergeant, Alpha Flight Commander, Zulu Flight Commander and Logistics Officer In Charge. As a Squadron Cadet he held the following staff positions: Greenville Composite Squadron, Administration NCO In Charge, Alpha Flight Sergeant, Squadron First Sergeant, Bravo Flight Commander, Spartanburg Composite Squadron and Recruiting/Retention Officer In Charge.

Tyson has also participated in SFCS Varsity Cross Country where he was honored as an All-State runner. His team won the NCISAA 1A Men’s Cross Country State Championship in 2009. Tyson also played Varsity Baseball for SFCS and is a certified, Grade 8, United States Soccer Federation referee.

Tyson attends Rock Springs Baptist Church where he attends youth group and has participated in choir. He has served countless hours of community service at the Triune Mercy Center and participated in the annual SFCS mission trip. He is the son of parents Bruce and Gwendolen Tyson of Greenville. He also received an ROTC scholarship to Princeton University.

Click HERE to read the article at The Greenville News.

Checking on the programs in use by your computer is made easy with MSconfig and TaskManager. Items that open when Windows boots are viewable in the Microsoft Configuration utility.

Manage Windows boot using MS config

Programs that want to start with Windows are not unusual. You may notice that often computers seem to get very slow with the addition of more applications. To give users better performance with their programs, developers will often set small programs to start when Windows boots. Your computer gets slower as it gets more of these applications to run. Most of these applications don’t have to be loaded for their parent applications to work. The tool to use to check what is running at Windows startup is a utility called msconfig. Begin by entering msconfig.exe in your windows “Start Search” box after clicking the “Start” button in the lower left part of your screen. Type “msconfig.exe” in the “Run” field should you be running Windows XP. There’s going to be a list under “Start-Up” that tells you everything that runs when Windows boots. Checkboxes are associated with each item that can be used to enable or disable each line during startup. You can also see the program’s developer, the program’s location, and the registry keys for that program. You’ve seen how to control what files run when Windows boots. Next, we’ll check on what applications are running right now.

Manage programs in memory using Task Manager

Perform <CONTROL><ALTERNATE><DELETE> to get the Windows OS options screen. The option you need to select is the one for Task Manager. You’ll see a listing of all the applications actively operating on the PC. Click the “End” button to unload one of the applications on the list. Viral apps and some that are not written for compatibility may not appear on the main applications list. To see everything that is using your system’s resources, you can check the next tab. Stop processes by using the “end” option on this screen.

Make a move and see what happens or investigate first

You can take a methodical approach to PC issues by eliminating start up apps or apps in memory one by one. For knowledge development, it’s a good thing to research all the items that are found in MS Configuration and in Taskman. It can take a good while though.

With a little bit of knowledge, you’ll now be able to control what your computer does, rather than being its slave.

The Greenville News printed an exciting list of nine things Greenville County has wasted our money on. Money has been taken from us at gunpoint by Greenville County Council and used to buy two dog parks for dog owners. We’ve been stuck with paying for a 95-acre passive park (we didn’t really spend any money on it, but since our buddies got all your money, we’re going to act like we spent it on this park) at Cedar Falls. We’ve been forced to buy water parks for parents of small children, and seven soccer fields at Greenville Tech. The list goes on, but you get the idea.

I need my money more than dog owners need a dog park. If dog owners want a park for their four-legged beasts, let them start the Greenville County Dog Parks Association and buy it themselves. If we need water parks around here so badly, why hasn’t anybody built one as a business? I know why: no one wants a water park enough to pay admission, so I have to pay for it so people can have it for free. It’s a money losing idea, else someone would have tried it by now. The money for soccer fields should come from soccer players and their parents. If there aren’t enough players to pay for fields, guess what? Don’t play soccer!

BUT WAIT! There’s even more good news! We should feel great about $48 million dollars being flushed down the county good ol’ boys system because “every 10 county recreation jobs create two to three jobs.” DAWG! This is all worth it! According to The Greenville News, 23,483 people are unemployed in the county. This means we can SOLVE the unemployment problem by hiring 234,830 people to work for the Greenville Recreation District. Whoopie!

The Greenville News The Greenville Bird Cage Liner is so excited about this frivolous waste of money they’re likely to wet their pants. As for me, I’d rather have my money.

Click HERE to read the article at The Greenville News.

Nine expanded parks to open in Greenville County
Residents get new paths to recreation

By Nan Lundeen • Staff writer • January 31, 2010

Residents and visitors to Greenville County will find nine newly expanded park facilities open this year, which represent an investment of $48.6 million.

They range from seven athletic fields in Berea to a 95-acre passive park at Cedar Falls to Pleasant Ridge Camp and Retreat Center, to a section of the Swamp Rabbit Trail, water parks, dog parks and more.

“I’m just thrilled with the Swamp Rabbit Trail,” said Cathy Ronald, chair of the Greater Greenville Parks Foundation. “I’m looking forward not only to walking on it but riding my bike from Travelers Rest to Greenville.”

“We’ve never had that many open in one year before,” said Gene Smith, Greenville County Recreation District executive director.

Of the $48.6 million, $31.8 million came from the hospitality tax allocated in 2006 by Greenville County Council, Smith said.

Other sources were a $4 million county supplemental appropriation; $2.3 million from state Department of National Resources/Colonial Oil pipeline spill settlement; $1 million in a state Budget and Control Board competitive grant; $2.6 million in gifts and grants; $6.3 million in loans; and a $500,000 self-generated fund reserve, according to Chanell Moore, district deputy director.

A 2009 Strom Thurmond Institute study showed that every 10 county recreation jobs create two to three jobs and every dollar the district spends generates an additional $1.19 in the broader county economy, according to Dr. Bob Brookover, director of Clemson International Institute for Tourism Research and Development.

“These projects will serve two purposes,” Smith said.

“On the one hand, they’ll enhance the community recreation sports program that we offer to our residents. Basically, they should provide additional tourism impacts to Greenville on the weekends.”

The facilities are:

• Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Trail four-mile segment opens May 7, and completes the paved Greenville-Travelers Rest greenway.

• Seven athletic fields open this spring at Greenville Technical College Northwest campus, Berea.

• Pleasant Ridge Camp and Retreat Center opens in May. Camp Spearhead is for individuals with special needs, Greenville Children’s Hospital System’s Camp Courage is for children with cancer and blood disorders.

• Northside Park’s Otter Creek Water Park opens in May.

• Lakeside Park’s Seventh Inning Splash Water Park with a giant funnel slide opens in May.

• Cedar Falls 95-acre passive park on Reedy River paddling trail may open this year. Two new sites will provide public access to the river.

• Dog parks at Pelham Mill Park and The Pavilion open this spring. Pavilion improvements include: lighted athletic field, playground, Bounce House (indoor children’s play area), and upgraded parking.

• 13.5-acre Loretta Wood Park opens this spring in Princeton.

• A park showcasing 101-year-old Campbell’s Covered Bridge opens this spring.

Unlike Google web applications, Google Pack is a set of Google applications that run on your computer. These applications include the Google Chrome web browser; Google Earth the Google Apps collection of email, calendar, and document applications; Google toolbar or Internet Explorer, Spyware Doctor with Anti-Virus, Google Desktop, Picasa, Google Talk, and more. The applications are free and can help make your computer more fun and productive. To get Google Pack, you will have to create a Google Account if you don’t have one already and then install the Google Pack applications you want.

Follow the instructions below to do get Google Pack:

1.    Go to Google

a.    Go to www.google.com

b.    Click “Sign in” at the top right of the page.

c.    If you already have a Google account, sign in and then go to step 3 below.

2.    Sign up for a Google account

a.    On the right, below the “Sign in with your Google Account box, you’ll see a box called, “Don’t have a Google account?” Click the “Create an account now” link. You will then be on the Create an Account” page.

b.    Fill in your current Email address and then type in the password you want to use twice. The password is going to be your new Google password so don’t use the password to your current email account unless you want your Google password to be the same.

c.    Choose the “Stay signed in” option if you want to have convenient access to your Google account. If you don’t select this, you will have to log in every time you try to access a Google feature. If you share a computer or are using a public computer, you will want to uncheck this box.

d.    “Web history” is a feature where Google will save your searches. This is supposed to make using Google easier, but the information is probably used by Google to target advertising to you. If you trust Google with your search history, leave the box checked. If not, click the box to turn this option off.

e.    Make sure your correct country is entered into the “location” box.

f.    For “Word Verification” type the letters in the graphic into the text box below it. The word can be difficult to decipher sometimes, but Google requires this to prevent automated generation of Google accounts. If you enter the text incorrectly, you will have to re-enter your password and then try typing the text from a new word verification graphic.

g.    Read the “Terms of Service” and click the “I accept. Create my account” button. You will be taken to the “Account Creation Confirmation” page.

h.    Check your Email account for an account creation confirmation Email sent to you from Google. This Email message will come from accounts-norepy@google.com. Click the link in the message to confirm your Google account. You will now be brought to the “Email Address Verified” page.

i.    To help with password recovery in the event you forget what the password to your Google account is, you can enter your mobile phone number. This will allow Google to sent you a recovery code via SMS so you can reset your Google account’s password.

j.    Click the “Add a mobile phone number” link. On the following page, enter your password into the “Verify access to your Google Account” box and then click the “Verify” button.

k.    On the “Recovering you password page,” click the “Add an email address” link to add an email account that can be used to recover your password. Your current Email address should be listed here.

l.    Click the “Add a mobile phone number” to allow your cell phone to be used for password recovery. Make sure your country is selected in the “Country” box. Type your cell phone number in the “Mobile phone number” box. Leave the box checked that allows your phone to be used to receive a password recovery text message.

m.    Click the “Save” button. At the top of the page you will see a highlighted message that says, “Your account information has been updated and saved – Back.” Click “Back.”

3.    Get Google Pack applications

a.    You should now be on the Google Accounts page that is where you can access create your Google profile and access a variety of Google applications.

b.    In the “Try something new” section, click “More.”

c.    On the “More Google Prodcucts” page, scroll all the way to the bottom right and find the “Make your computer work better” section. Click the “Pack” link. When you get to the “Google pack” window, you will see a list of Google Pack applications to choose from. These are all free applications, so you can read about them and see which ones you want to install. When you’re ready, click the “Download now” button to download and install your applications.

d.    Follow the instructions to download and install your Google Pack applications.